Losing a cousin

While we were in Oklahoma for Mardi Gras one of my older cousins died. It's a sad thing as he was only 43 and had (has) 3 kids, 2 of which are about graduated from high school. I hadn't seen him in quite a long time so I have very little personal grief but I do feel sad for my aunt (and his brothers, not to mention his wife and kids, of course). I can't imagine losing a child at all. I don't even want to try.

I was thinking about losing a cousin though. It's a strange thing. Some people you just expect to exist in the world. A few years ago one of my older cousins on my dad's side died. I forget sometimes in my cousin count that she is gone. And I'm sure that the same will happen here. When you rarely see someone that you are related to it's hard to remember they are gone. But still family is family and the loss is a terrible thing.