IT'S HARD TO TAKE

Our parent’s generation is gone. Now, our cousins are aging, making it clear that we’re part of the senior generation.

After having my annual mammogram at Overlook Hospital on October 27, 2023, I walked over to the main hospital building and asked for a pass to visit a patient in the ICU. Cousin Arby is 79. While non-religious, he was eager to tell me that the rabbi came to bless him.

Arby’s hospitalization is what I call, “the always something category.” About six weeks later, after three weeks of hospitalization and two of rehabilitation, when my husband called to check on his cousin/brother, he told my husband, “I almost died.” We followed up with a visit.

With their next special birthdays fast approaching, while sitting around their kitchen table, Arby’s wife Carol conceded, “We’re going to be 80!” 🙏They’ll no longer be in our decade of life but will forever be dear to our hearts.

Swiftly flow the years…use them wisely.

Cousins Carol and Arby Rolband on a better day June 10, 2007 South Orange, New Jersey