It's been a tough year for the Gill family

[zolac_no_miko]

Forwarded by my mother, from my Uncle Eric, who's lost his wife: "Lauree passed peacefully surrounded by loved ones at 1:30 PM, graceful and beautiful to the last."

Well, that's it then. Auntie Lauree's gone. She had a long hard struggle and she dealt with it with such amazing grace, right up to the end.

It feels so quick, even so. I just saw her at Christmas. She was maybe a little thin, and maybe a little tired, but there was no stopping that over-brimming joy. Only two weeks ago she left the hospital, making the decision to stop fighting it and go in as much comfort and dignity as she could manage.

She had the biggest, brightest smile in the family.

...So it goes.

Comments

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

I'm very sorry to hear that sweetie! *gives you a nice long hug* But at least she's not in pain any more. I had that with my granddad, though it was quite expected by the end. But what got me through the grief was the thought that at least he's not in pain any more and is at peace.

[zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com]

*huggles* Thank you. I know. I've mostly come to terms with it. She's been fighting the cancer for a long time. It got better, and then it came back, and then it didn't get better...

It's just rough to have so much going on in such a short period of time. My grandpa had been declining for several years, and he went in June, which was a shock to everyone in the family even though it was expected. Shortly after that Lauree had her second bought of chemo, which had no effect at all on the cancer, so at that point we knew it was only a matter of time. At the same time, my grandpa's brother, my Uncle Kink (not his real name) discovered that he had an aggressive and fatal cancer. So, in less than a year we've lost my Grandpa Tom and my Auntie Lauree, and we may lose my Uncle Kink any time now (he's already lived much longer than expected; we weren't sure he'd still be around at Christmas). We're all really close on my mom's side, which makes it especially hard.

[regonym.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'm so sorry, hon.

[zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com]

*huggles* Thanks, luv.

...Are you in New Orleans, now?

LJ fails at comments notification, rar.

[regonym.livejournal.com]

Nope, we don't leave until this Saturday. :D We're driving there, which should be....uh. Well, two ten hour-days of driving, I'll leave it at that. We're overnighting in Knoxville, Tennessee, tho, so I'm a bit psyched about that - another state to check off the list! ^^

This week is mad preparations and running around packing, and then we're off. fkads;fjasdlkfjasdfksd I can't waitttt.

[zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com]

ROAD TRIP!! I dunno, that sounds tiring, but that also sounds like fun. I haven't done as much road-tripping as I'd like. Don't suppose they'll let you out of the car occasionally? ^_^

What'll you be doing in New Orleans, exactly?

[regonym.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think it'll be fun - I got my van certification during training, so I'll be able to break it up a bit that way by taking a shift behind the wheel. I might see if I can get my laptop set up to watch a movie with people, or do a TV show marathon of some kind. :D

We're doing work in the Central City district with the United Saints Recovery Project! It's a pretty cool non-profit - it focuses on rebuilding houses that were damaged during Katrina for people who are elderly, handicapped, or otherwise couldn't make the repairs themselves for whatever reason (it's pretty case-by-case). We'll be living about three blocks north of St. Charles' Ave., so we'll be able to hop a streetcar over to the other districts really easily! I can't wait to try beniets at Cafe du Monde, omg.

[zolac-no-miko.livejournal.com]

Cooooool. I don't think you've been to New Orleans before...? I loved it there. The food, and the music, and the architecture, and the swampiness... and the people are just fabulous. And oh man, those Cafe du Monde beignets, yes!! I recommend taking them up onto the dike and eating them while overlooking the Mississippi River. There's just nothing better.

...Prepare to be shocked by how much of the city is still trashed, though.