Related by love

My mother died 19 years ago. A reformed smoker, she battled metastatic lung cancer for almost four years, lasting far longer than any doctor could have predicted. I learned then that you can't measure what's inside a person's heart.

As tough as that time was there are moments that make me smile - from my dad sharing a joke I had never heard ("Hey shoes, why not have a party and invite the pants down,"), to the seven of us carrying our mom's casket, to my aunt's description of how Suann was related to the Coupe family.

As I mentioned in my last post, Suann came into my life our senior year of college. I was a commuter while Suann lived on campus. I was not prepared to come out but I wanted Suann to know my family. It didn't take long for her to get into the flow and my parents often introduced her as their 5th daughter. She showed up, never said no, especially when my mom asked her to take photos and was very much a part of the family. Holidays, weddings, birthdays, Suann was there. My parents never asked for details and I never offered any for fear of how they would react.

At my mom's wake, eleven years after we had gotten together, one of my cousins watched Suann weave seamlessly through our family. He asked his mother, my dad's older sister who she was and how she was related. Aunt Doris replied, "That's Suann. She's related by love."

Related by love. At 70+ years my aunt nailed it. Labels don’t matter. Love does. 

LIFE IS RANDOM LOVE IS NOTTM