Dear Pals,
My daughter Libby called me from California on Monday night as I was leaving the office. She was utterly distraught with grief because one of her favorite Aunts had died totally unexpectedly at age 53.
I was shocked at the news.
Jody was my ex-sister-in-law and one of 11 children.
I spent many years with her family and have a lot happy memories from that history. Unfortunately, things didn't work out as planned and over time, I went from being a son-in-law to an ex-in-law.
Throughout the years, whenever our paths crossed, Jody was always very nice and kind to me. Since she made her career in the hospitality industry, I used to run into her in her work settings from time to time.
But, the last time I saw her was at the neighborhood carwash on a Saturday a fews months back.
Now, Jody might have weighed all of 100 lbs., if she had a 5 lb. weight in her pocket. She was very petite and wirey stature-wise, maybe 5' 2" in heels. But, she had always been a been a high energy, high emotion...total ball of animated energy.
The last time I saw her was no exception. She had her huge dog, Jack, in tow. He was a big boistrous bounding Lab-cross of some sort. Jody had him on a leash...or maybe Jack had Jody on one? It was a little hard to tell from the wild tug-of-war, exactly who was in charge.
Even though we hadn't seen each other in a long time, it seemed like only yesterday. Jody filled me in on the clan and updated me on what was going on. She tried to hook me up that day with my former brother-in-law who was in town on a visit, but he had already left for the airport, so I missed him.
Whenever I saw Jody...her personality and kinetic energy always picked me up. In my experiences with her, she never drained energy, she generated it, made it crackle and transferred it to those around her.
It's interesting that life is a lot about picking.
While we can't pick our parents or the family into which we materialize at birth, once we do have a family, we can choose to pick at the people who are in it, or we can pick up its spirit or we can even pick it apart.
The choice is ours for better or worse.
There are lots of memories to pick from when it comes to Jody.
I pick all the happiest ones when she was at the top of her game, alive, energetic and a force with which to be reckoned. Jody also had one of those full-body laughs and brother did she love to roar!
I will miss running into her...I'll miss her laugh a lot.
I know that her passing has left a big and sad empty space in the lives of her family and many friends.
I also know that she is being hugged and held in the arms of a very loving God today.
I send my deepest condolences to her Mom and her sibs: John, Ellen, Chris, Laurie, Gene, Greg, Pam, Stephen, David and Lisa.
Jody has just gone ahead to that future destination where she'll be waiting for all the rest of us.
Birk, The Ex-In-Law
PS: I'll bet her Dad, "Bud" (I always think of him on his birthday, St. Joseph's Day, March 19th), Mom and Pop Dorr, Jake and Betty, Ollie and Kathy, Jack and Adie, Sam and Dot et al and the rest of the gang were all waiting there to welcome her.
