My cousin Jay though is like the older brother that I never had. We were always close and have shared a special bond ever since I was little. When I was 2 1/2 I was in the Children's hospital fighting meningitis. My mom says when Jay showed up and walked into my hospital room my whole face lit up. Growing up I was what Jay and his friends practised their WWF moves on. I was small (he's 4 years older than me) so they would "body slam" me on the bed or snow - ha sounds way worse than it was. Jay used to make me tapes (apparently a loong time ago.....) with all the "cool" music he and his friends listened to (Metallica, GnR, Motley Crue, Def Leppard etc)
I still remember crying my eyes out when Jay and his sister Jo moved from Two Mountains (where they lived a few streets away from me) to Lennoxville, PQ which was about two hours away....I was heartbroken. However, as expected life didn't end (ha). I visited them. They visited me. Actually every single time Jay came back (as he got older he came often on his own) he always made sure to visit his little cousin. Jay even lived with us for a time (while he was working in town). I was ecstatic. Not only was my favourite person in the whole world living under my roof, he was legal then (I was not). Me and my friends by this time would get beer from a place that sold to minors....One time however the store owner got busted so we had to find another means to get our booze. Jay was going out with his buddy Owen that night and this was before cell phones. When payphones were everywhere and cost a quarter. I tried calling the house from a payphone to ask him if he could pick us up some beer. Unbeknownst to me he was trying to take a shower. So the phone rang (and this was also before caller ID - God I sound like I'm from the dark ages...) Jay ran to answer (it was down the hall), in a towel, only to get a dial tone when he picked up. I would only let it ring twice before hanging up cause I only had 1 quarter. So he waited a minute, then was just about to get back in the shower when the phone rang again. I called half a dozen times before he finally got to the phone before I hung up. In the end we got our own beer so it was all for naught! To this day we still laugh about that. Well, mostly me, and its bubbly, happy, snorting giggles cause i can picture his mounting frustration with each dial tone...I'm giggling as I write that. Jay's probably laughing (or at least smiling!) as he reads it.
When he went through basic training he was stationed in Wainwright, AB (near Edmonton) Oh happy day cause he was close to me again! He visited lots. And we wrote each other lots too. I still have all those letters. He got hurt (bad knees) and he was devastated when he couldn't finish but I was (selfishly) beyond happy.
When I got married he was the MC at our wedding. He did a phenomenal job. We flew back for his marriage celebration in Ottawa. I am a Godparent to one of his daughters...(who happens to be 6 months younger than Emily...his other daughter is a few months younger than Ethan!)
When I was diagnosed he was one of the last family members I told that first week. I just kept putting off telling him. How could I tell my big cousin I had breast canser? I asked his sister Jo to tell him (I was talking to her daily since the mammogram) but she gently urged me to tell him myself. "He'd want to know Cin. Call him". Telling Jay was one of the hardest calls I've had to make. He didn't know about the lump or the biopsy so it was a complete shock. I could hear the emotion in his voice. My heart broke when I could feel his breaking.
Seeing Jay was like seeing Kimmy - pure joy. My heart was light and I was so happy.
I was part of the reason Jay came out. Remember his "legendary" friends I mentioned? Well, one of them, Bryan moved out to Calgary a few years after I did. He and I become good friends in our own right (although I'd known him since I was 5 he was always Jay's friend not mine) He worked at CP for a long while so we used to go for coffee, lunch sometimes and a bunch of us would go for beers after work now and again. We played soccer together. We had kids (ha not together!) Through the years we've always made time for each other - usually in the form of a quick beer somewhere to catch up. And then Bryan discovered his passion - he wanted to be a cop. After a few disappointments and lots and lots of hard work (and a collapsed lung!!) he got accepted to the Calgary Police Service and here he was graduating July 25.
So that week was chemo week. But it was a great chemo week cause Jay was here and we were going to see our mutual friend graduate after months of hard work! I may have had an additional incentive to go to his grad when I found out there would be lots of officers in uniform...ha ha ha. Hey you can't blame me - these guys put their lives on the line for ordinary people like you and I - I say they deserve a little hero worship!
So I threw my hair on, put on a dress, heels and hoped my body would co-operate since chemo was 2 days prior.
The only un-co-operation was my eyes...they were leaking...ok, ok I can't blame that on chemo...that was pride in watching a good friend fulfil his calling. Jay's eyes may have also been leaking...
It was a good day. Phil, Jay and I even shared a laugh as I was debating having some of my medicine before going to ensure I wasn't in any pain...but I didn't want to be Bryan's first arrest so I forewent it ha.
The next day we (Phil & the kids) went to Bryan's annual House of Pain BBQ. What a fun time! I couldn't drink but Phil had a few on my behalf lol. It was a chemo week and I was still suffering from the headaches so I didn't really take any pics....I have some from his grad but I can't post them on social media...and before your mind goes to the gutter - its not cause they were R rated or indecent. It's cause you can't post pics of the officers in their uniforms.
Or dancing on tables...I'm kidding....maybe....(so I added a pic in from one of our first soccer tourney's of Bryan below...hee hee)
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