"A photograph is the pause button of life."
-unknown
And isn't it true that sometimes we'd all love to have a real life pause button. I would- especially this week because we lost one of the good ones. My cousin, (I'm just going to call him that because our family is so close I just say that about everyone) Eddie Solomon, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer and was taken way too early. Ya see, no matter what they say- Time isn't always on our side.
Writing is cathartic to me, but this blog is filled with regret. Regret that I didn't see him one last time, tell him how unbelievably talented I thought he was, or let him know how much I loved him.
Because we all thought we had more time. And I will never forget how he posted this on Facebook:
Not many people can say that the same person photographed you when you were little,
when you got engaged,
for your bridal portrait,
when you had your first born,
(Do you see the note in Chris's baby book how Eddie even made birth announcements for me- and I wonder if he knew at the time how much they meant because they so weren't in our budget back then...
and made this wonderful collage with my grandparents that I will cherish forever.)
when you had your middle child- and I'm sorry sweet Addie Tay you are so the middle child and this was a short photo session sweet girl- Lol!,
and also when we had the little one that made our family complete...
Eddie was there for it all- all of my big life moments. And everything in between... family pictures, snapshots at family events,
my crazy ideas that he went along with,
And here's where I'll spare you the picture where I emailed, "Eddie, I'm starting to blog for LA Boxing. Would you be able to take a "before" picture and promise not to show it to a soul with the hopes that I can follow thru and get an after picture." And he replied, "Sure, you can come over on Friday and Joyce can help watch Chris." Just like that...
He was there for it all.
My last message to him was about a month ago when I wrote telling him he had to keep fighting. Afterall, he had to be around to take my boudoir pictures- Ya know, the ones I've been saying I'd have done for the past fifteen years "when I lost weight." I joked that if that wasn't something to look forward to- taking my naked pictures I don't know what was... because Eddie was one of the ones that always got my sarcastic humor. And I like to think he is making me laugh right now by saying, "That wasn't really something I had to stick around for."
I know that Eddie loved my family, my kids, and me, so I'm the lucky one.
If you have an Eddie in your life, never take them for granted and think they'll always be around. Love the ones you are with. Hug your family. Tell people how you feel. And if anything, for that Big Guy in a Hawaiian Shirt and socks with sandals, Always smile, say cheese, and take the damn picture because life is short and memories are precious.
