I first started this blog in February. I had wanted to do a blog for quite awhile. I just wanted to write something fun about our dog. But the reason I started it on that particular day was to try to distract myself from worrying about my cousin Stan.
I have many, many cousins. Both of my parents come from big families and both were the youngest in their families. I have cousins out there I don't even know. But I have some that I grew up with. Not in the sense that we were the same age and we grew up together, but they were part of my childhood and I grew up with them around me. Stan is one of those cousins. He's one of the sons of one of my dad's older brothers. When I was a kid, we lived in California and that's where this batch of cousins lived. Stan's sister Marlene and her husband Reuben lived around the corner from us with their boys Brad and Terry who were my age. Stan and Marlene's sister, Jolene and brother, Dennis and their families lived nearby also. It was fun growing up with family close by. Marlene and Reuben were like another set of parents, which could be good or bad, depending on if I was doing something wrong or not. We shared lots of meals and holidays and just day to day stuff.
Stan was a single guy. He worked at the VA hospital and he would come over alot on Tuesdays. That also happened to be the day my mom did the baking for the week. When I came home from school on Tuesdays, I could always count on Stan sitting at the bar in the kitchen eating a piece of pie or a cinnamon roll that had just come out of the oven. Since Stan was single and living the "bachelor life" my brother thought he was the coolest.
My family moved back here to Texas but Stan came and visited us. There was a period of several years when we didn't see Stan or Marlene and Reuben but just kept in touch by phone or letters or the family grapevine. After Jeff and I married, I introduced him to Corn, Oklahoma, the center of the universe for all Nikkels. We all met up again at some kind of Corn celebration years ago. I don't even remember what the occasion was but Corn always knows how to throw a great parade. Anyway, meeting up again, it was like we hadn't ever been apart. We all talked and laughed and had a great time and left with an unspoken agreement to stay in touch. I could email Marlene but Stan has never been one for computers. He liked to talk on the phone. He would call here or I would call him but one thing I could always count on was at the end of the conversation, he would always say, "it's nice to hear you voice". I always thought that was a great way to end a phone call.
So, back to the reason this blog is here.....In February of this year, Stan had a scan that showed 2 tumors in his brain. He was having brain surgery so they could do a biopsy. I spent the day pacing the floor and sat at the computer for awhile. As I said, I had wanted to do a blog about Jake for awhile and thought it would be a nice distraction so I sat at the table and typed and waited for the phone to ring.
When the phone rang, it was bad news. Stan's tumors were malignant. The following months were such a rollercoaster ride. He responded well to the radiation and chemo and I thought if anyone could beat this, it would be Stan. He took a bad turn and ended up in hospice. Then he got better and they discharged him. I had never heard of anyone being discharged from a hospice before. He eventually went to a specialist in San Diego and moved in with Marlene and Reuben. During this time, we still talked on the phone and he still always ended our conversations with "it's nice to hear your voice". He always liked to hear Jake stories. I sent a picture of Jake to Stan last Christmas and his neighbor saw it and did an oil painting of him. Stan said it was in an exhibit somewhere in California. Jake in an art gallery. Who would have thought? Marlene would pull this blog up and they would see more Jake pictures and read the stories. My quilting group made him a beautiful black and red quilt and I sent it to him. He knew the kind of work that went into making a quilt and he sent them a huge gift basket filled with chocolates. Even with everything going on, he wanted to show his appreciation. That was just the kind of guy he was.
Then a few weeks ago, he went into hospice again. Two weeks ago, I got a call early in the morning from Marlene that Stan had passed away. He was such a great guy. Quick with a joke and so thoughtful. This past summer he had said he was hoping to be well enough to visit us at Thanksgiving. When Thanksgiving rolled around last week, I was thinking about Stan and I could still hear him say, "it's nice to hear your voice". He will be missed by many, many people.
