What is it about January?

[jay]

With the exception of an uncle who passed away in March of '78, everyone else that I've known, or a close relative of someone I've known, has passed away in January. My grandfather, neice, and eldest uncle passed away in January over the last several years. Last year was a good year, with an uneventful January.

This year is starting off to be one of the worst. So far, a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer around Thanksgiving; the funeral was two weeks ago. Then the following week, the wife of a former co-worker passed away in her sleep.

Add to that NASCAR drivers Bobby Hamilton and Benny Parsons, part of my NASCAR extended family, who succumbed to cancer this month. On Wednesday, a co-worker and friend's mother died after a long battle with cancer, and yesterday, a co-worker and friend's dad passed away after a long battle with Alzheimers.

I'm looking forward to February, and putting this January behind me.

[robrecht]

Sorry to hear about all that, Jay. My admin of several years died of metastatic cancer 3 months ago and that has weighed heavily upon us all at work. I still come across emails from her--even in the hospital she wanted to keep working--and it's hard. But it also helps me remember how relative work is in relation to the people that mean so much to us. I'm sure you know not to avoid the grief 'cause that's where the love is found for the moment. I'm not really a religious person but I do believe that there's a lot deeper reality out there and inside us all that we spend most of our time avoiding. January sucks, it's true, but it only comes once a year. Then it's February.

[Sportymonk]

Although its hard to have a definitive cause and effect, many people tend to die in December - January time frame. It is believed that those who are near death "hang on" until Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Day, an anniversary etc. Once they reach that "milestone", they can let go. Would like to see more research on it.

[rocky]

I've ben fortunate. But My Dad died just Jan 3rd 1998. We held his service a few days later on my birthday.

When I came home, the first person in my family I got to see was my then 2 year old, who got an especially big emotional hug from me

[robrecht]

Originally posted by rocky
I've ben fortunate. But My Dad died just Jan 3rd 1998. We held his service a few days later on my birthday.

When I came home, the first person in my family I got to see was my then 2 year old, who got an especially big emotional hug from me

I really know what you mean. My Dad died in July of 2001 and less than two months later we found out our first boy was on his way. We called my Mom first.

[mrClen]

i'm sorry to hear that dude.