Spent part of last night at the wake of a friend of B’s family (which, I guess, makes him a friend of my family - it definitely takes a while to think of all the in-laws as “family”). Mr. Murphy was well-known and loved by many friends and family. Though I didn’t know him that well, I was kind of shocked at his suddent death. We saw him only a few days before playing golf at the Pitch ‘n’ Putt, and now… it puts certain things into perspective.

I ran into my aunt at a Regatta Day sale; she’s been having a tough time lately, her mother and several aunts/uncles are ill, and one uncle passed away last week. As we were parting, I gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek (I’m not normally that type of person, but she needed it). Well, my aunt appreciated it (I think) but my uncle seemed kind of embarassed; his reaction seemed basically, “We don’t show emotion, what are hell are you doing?”.

Well, that raises my question/quandry… why DON’T we show more emotion? Some think it’s weak, but really I think being able to show you care makes a person strong. My own mom finds it’s amazing that after all the years of being married, my parents-in-law still hold hands when walking. But they love each other - why should the number of anniversaries you’ve celebrated affect the way they show emotion?

So I’m going to be unlike the rest of my family and try to show what I’m feeling, try and reach out if I feel someone needs it. And I don’t care who sees.