Remembering the Js

June is a bittersweet month for me.  Lots of great stuff happens in June.  First there's my birthday. (It's next Tuesday; please feel free to send extravagant gifts! :)  ).  My father's birthday is right after that, and is quickly followed by Father's Day.  June is the end of the school year. (I am so over 5th grade; maybe even more so than my son!)  June is the beginning of summer!  (Woo hoo!  Days at the beach.   Swimming at the pool!  Inhaling the wonderful scent of Coppertone!)

But June also marks the anniversaries of the passing of two very important people in my life:  My Uncle Jimmy (after whom my son is named) and my brother John.  Both passed from this life suddenly and far too soon.  Both were larger than life, with smiles and personalities that could light up a room.  

The last time I saw them both together was at my wedding in September 1996.  (Getting together wasn't easy; while my brother and the rest of my immediate family live on the east coast; my uncle and his family live in the Mountain Time zone.)  As the bride, I got to dance with them both.  My uncle was a good dancer.  (He showed off his skills with his old girlfriend from high school.  Though married to different people; they could still cut the rug!)  My brother not so much.  But both of them danced with joy and laughter.  (Maybe the wine had something to do with it!)

That's how I want to and DO remember them both.  Full of fun; full of life.

Life is unpredictable.  Live it to the fullest.  Enjoy it!  Live is so that when you are gone, the memories people have of you are as full of joy as the ones I have of my uncle and my brother.