Last weekend I went to Heidelberg with Andy, another person in the program here. I can’t really say we did anything touristy. We got there and proceeded to pretty much starting drinking about 6:00 p.m., then got back around 3:00 a.m. In between were some fireworks, hiking up to the top of a very large hill to a castle – drinking ¾ bottle of Malibu and then going to a party where there was a bathtub full of high quality beer. It was an American/Canadian party – so the beer was ice cold making for a very happy Christine.
While this was all going on, I was not informed that on Friday my cousin, John (Katie’s brother if you know her) was stung by a bee on the back of the head while mowing the lawn. He went inside and complained of dizziness – then collapsed. They called the ambulance and 15 minutes later they arrived and tried to resuscitate him for the next 40 minutes. He fell into a coma and died on Monday.
I am not able to go home to attend the funeral due to the time constraint and I’m in the middle of fucking no where in Germany. It’s a terrible feeling to be so far when you know you are needed, and you know that you need to be there as well.
Needless to say, I have been pretty upset and extremely sad. Yesterday was spent crying and on the phone with friends and family and pacing around my house. Today was not much better, and I missed the first 45 minutes of class because I didn’t quite know how to be around any one. On and off all day I have been fighting tears, trying to make myself strong enough to attempt to understand what has happened and accept that I can not be there to support my family and for me most importantly – my best friend and cousin Katie.
I spent a lot of my childhood around John, because he was Katie’s older brother and although I can not say that we were necessarily close, he still was a staple in my family life. Whenever I think of him, he’s smiling standing tall in Katie’s kitchen and usually on his way to go hunting with his dad, or go fix something in “the shop”. I remember playing GI Joe in his room and staring in awe at all his hunting photos that were up complete with orange camouflage and a deer in the picture.
He leaves behind his mom, dad, grandmother, an older sister, two younger sisters, a younger brother, a wife of one year and high school sweetheart for many, and on our side three aunts, two uncles and around 20 cousins.
Although I doubt there is hunting in heaven, I’m sure there’s plenty of venison sausage for him up there that he’s eating right now with my grandpa.
While this was all going on, I was not informed that on Friday my cousin, John (Katie’s brother if you know her) was stung by a bee on the back of the head while mowing the lawn. He went inside and complained of dizziness – then collapsed. They called the ambulance and 15 minutes later they arrived and tried to resuscitate him for the next 40 minutes. He fell into a coma and died on Monday.
I am not able to go home to attend the funeral due to the time constraint and I’m in the middle of fucking no where in Germany. It’s a terrible feeling to be so far when you know you are needed, and you know that you need to be there as well.
Needless to say, I have been pretty upset and extremely sad. Yesterday was spent crying and on the phone with friends and family and pacing around my house. Today was not much better, and I missed the first 45 minutes of class because I didn’t quite know how to be around any one. On and off all day I have been fighting tears, trying to make myself strong enough to attempt to understand what has happened and accept that I can not be there to support my family and for me most importantly – my best friend and cousin Katie.
I spent a lot of my childhood around John, because he was Katie’s older brother and although I can not say that we were necessarily close, he still was a staple in my family life. Whenever I think of him, he’s smiling standing tall in Katie’s kitchen and usually on his way to go hunting with his dad, or go fix something in “the shop”. I remember playing GI Joe in his room and staring in awe at all his hunting photos that were up complete with orange camouflage and a deer in the picture.
He leaves behind his mom, dad, grandmother, an older sister, two younger sisters, a younger brother, a wife of one year and high school sweetheart for many, and on our side three aunts, two uncles and around 20 cousins.
Although I doubt there is hunting in heaven, I’m sure there’s plenty of venison sausage for him up there that he’s eating right now with my grandpa.
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