Two years, soon enough

I continue to fall into the gap between sadness over what I've lost and amazement at what I have.
The best thing, of course, continues to be my lucky association with Christine; not only the founder of this blog, but my savior (literally and figuratively). Without her, no Mark, no blog, nada. I am truly blessed.
I just returned from a whirlwind tour of the Northeast with my father (who, like Chris, had to do all the driving), visiting relatives (his and mine). They were, in chronological order:

Richard and MaryEllen Wilson (he's my cousin on my mother's side) in Cincinnati, Ohio (we flew into Columbus and Dickie, as he's known in the family, drove us down and back).

Carol Jones Tama and Larry Tama (she's my father's cousin) in Blossburg, Pennsylvania.

Larry and Sue Frey (he's my cousin and my father's nephew via his sister) in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

Mimi Palmer (she's my father's relation) at Schooley's Mountain, New Jersey.

Dorothy Jones (she's the second wife of Morton, my father's uncle, and step-mom to Skip Jones) in lower New Jersey; we had dinner with her and Skip and Yung-hui Jones (he's my father's cousin; she's his wife from his time in Korea).

It is good to have such wonderful relatives, direct or indirect; they are all incredibly nice and kind people.