Tuesday, January 20, 2015
As far back as I can remember, Patrick was an integral part of family gatherings. Patrick and I are cousins. I remember summers sleeping over Aunt Esther's and playing all day. It didn't matter that we were girls and boys, nor did it matter our age differences. We alway had fun togehter. I remember sitting down to dinner, Denise, Richie, Michelle, and I, perfectly still, perfectly quiet, waiting for all of us to be done so we could race back outside to play. I remember going to the beach and playing all day in the sand attempting to make someting amazing. Little did I know back then that we were making something amazing. We were making memories. Memories that can't be taken away. As the years went on some of us got married, some of us had children, but some of us didn't. Patrick didn't. That didn't stop him from coming to family gatherings, whether it was an engagement party, birthday, christening, communion, or wedding. I remember most recently talking to Pat about Starbucks. I think it was at our cousin Mike's wedding. We were thrilled to find out we both loved Starbucks! He told me I needed to purchase items seperately in order to get the most points. That's the kind of person Pat was, a person willing to share goodness with you, a person who always wanted to celebrate with you. He always celebrated with us because he loved us. So here I am celebrating Patrick, because I too love him. I will miss him most at family gatherings even though I know he will still be there celebrating with us. He is a part of us, just as we are a part of him. So here I celebrate Patrick.
