time together. The funeral was filled with the usual tears, laughter, and joy as we celebrated Bob’s life and all the people he’s touched. As the family and friends gathered afterwards for more storytelling. Making the rounds with my family, it soon became apparent that we all wanted to do more family get togethers and we  started sharing ideas about how we can make sure we stay connected despite our distances. One of my younger cousins told me that she and my niece want to reinstitute “The Cousin’s Club” a tradition that my mother and her sisters used to make sure all the cousins got together 3 or 4 times a year. My brother’s and I planned a golf trip for this May and Sheila is planning on taking our new grand daughter and her mom to her annual women’s retreat. Adversity and grief are something we face often and while getting back to normal is good, I think we actually wind up learning and changing from these events so that we actually bounce forward. Thanks Cousin Bob for reminding me. Rest in Peace.]]>