Another Goodbye

I recently was informed that my niece died. She was the oldest child of my oldest sister-in-law.
After I married my husband she and I became good friends. If that sounds odd remember that she was actually a bit older than my husband and me.

My niece had a cute little boy. He had gorgeous dark hair and big dark eyes.

Her husband was very  nice. He and my husband liked to hang out together so we "girls" had plenty of time to get to know each other.

She was one of those feisty fiery people who can be so much fun. And fun is what she was. She had a marvelous sense of humor.

Eventually my husband and I moved to the big city and we hardly saw each other.

My niece divorced her husband. I do not know the particulars and they are none of my business. She and her son lived with her mother then.

She told me that one day she was riding the bus going downtown with her little boy. He was misbehaving the way children tend to do. My niece was embarrassed because she could not make him settle down. Finally she said, "If you don't settle down I'm going to tell your mother that I won't babysit any more!"

My sister-in-law also had divorced her husband so all of them along with my three nephews moved to another state. There my niece was married again. So was my sister-in-law but that is for another day.

My niece had several more children. All of her children are now grown just as mine are.

She has been ill for quite some time. Her little oxygen tank became her best friend. That made things hard for her because she had long been a heavy smoker.

She died peacefully with all her children with her. They have accepted her death with grace that I have seldom seen.

Our family has lost an important piece.