Memories

This morning my cousin, Debbie Cooper, passed away. She had been in the hospital for weeks, and had been in poor health for quite a while, but always she was a fighter and she overcame the odds so many times that it's hard to believe that she is no longer with us.

When someone passes, especially a family member, the memories come flooding into your brain. And I'd like to jot down a few of these. Debbie's father, my Uncle Don, passed away a short time ago. He and my dad were close, even before Don married by dad's sister, Nancy. The Coopers and the Osbornes lived in Lafayette while we were growing up, not far from each other, so we spent a lot of time with them. It's odd the things you recall at a time like this. I vividly remember picnics at the Coopers and Aunt Nancy serving us Kool-Aid in a metal pitcher. Why does that pitcher stick out in my mind? Maybe because I always believed, probably erroneously, that the metal somehow tinged the flavor of the Kook-Aid.
But mostly I remember holidays at my Grandmother's. My older brother Rob and Debbie's older sister Janet were always picking on us, as older siblings are wont to do. They cheated at Monopoly, making up the rules as they went along. No wonder Debbie and I never won! For meals, we sat at "the kids table," a card table set up in the living room. If you got up to go to the bathroom or something, inevitably you'd come back to find some mashed potatoes in your drink or something similar.
Last October the Coopers came to northern Illinois for a weekend visit. It was like old times. We even played Mousetrap, although it wasn't nearly as fun as we remembered it being. And the damn thing never worked properly. But we laughed and talked and shared stories (although, I have to admit, Rob and Janet have a lot of memories that don't seem to fit my recollection of things at all). It was a great weekend.
I think that's a memory I'll cherish. The four of us, once again, sitting at a table playing Mousetrap. Good times, good days.
Wings of angels, tears of Saints. Take care, Debbie.