My cousin's wife, Tracy, passed away yesterday afternoon. She'd had cancer for well over a year and treatment just wasn't taking. Most recently they found it in her liver. She was finally ready for it to end and was sent home Tuesday with hospice. They said she probably had about two weeks. She made it four days. Her daughters came home and spent that time with her and her husband was there with her at the end. She has been a member of our family for 15 years and always will be.

I just feel like she had such a rough life, growing up and then pregnant at 15, basically a single mom for 11 years. And then she met my cousin and it wasn't perfect, but she never had to worry for anything, he cared for her and those kids and just...she was finally in a place where she should have been safe and secure, watching her daughters grow into amazing young ladies who are off to college now. This was the time to enjoy the rest of her life, just her and her husband and their small army of dogs. And the fact that that was stripped from her by such a terrible illness is so horrible.

I didn't see Tracy as much as I would have liked, but when I did, we both talked at each other non-stop, like cackling geese. She always told me that I cracked her up and that my view on things was amazing and always made her feel better. I am so sorry I didn't get a chance to say goodbye and I will miss her so much.

Photo by Steffen Schrägle

Safe travels through the mist, my friend.