Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Progress Report: 1/17/12

Well, it's been a tumultuous new year.

The most important news is that my father-in-law passed away over the holidays. His name was Warren Tom Cooper, and he went by Tom. It was funny... in the hospital and hospice, he would let the nurses and doctors call him Warren until he decided that he actually liked them, and then they would get to call him Tom. It was kind of a code. He enjoyed stuff like that.

I've known Tom for over 20 years, and he's been a huge part of my life. Candi's relationship to him was always very close, and when I started seeing her he was immediately supporting and accepting. This was good... standing at 6'4" and built very solidly, he could be a pretty intimidating guy when he didn't approve of something. But when you were family, as I was privileged to be, he would do anything to help you along. That was the way his mother was as well. Both of them taught me so many important lessons in my life.

Right now, the impact of his passing is still setting in. We live in a different world now, Candi and me, and we're still getting used to that new reality. Life has a way of keeping you so busy that it's tricky to just sit with your feelings sometimes, and that has its upside and downside. I will say that this is the first time I've had to be a part of dealing with all the logistics and details of someone dying -- it's quite startling how much there is to do.

Tom was very supportive of my writing, and really helped me out with some of the details about the setting of my first book. So I feel like I can honor him by continuing to write and work towards getting my work published. Which I'm doing.

Just taking it a bit slow. This new world takes some adjustment.