I have entered The Death Phase

In families with evenly-spaced generations, sometimes there are phases: a bunch of marriages for a while, a bunch of births for a while, a bunch of deaths all closely spaced.

I have entered the Death Phase. Just lost another one last night.

I have currently lost track of how many and exactly which of my extended family has died in the last year. I am hoping to avoid seriously embarrassing myself next time I meet anyone who was close to those people. Being two thousand miles from most of them, and having been a thousand miles away all during the time I was growing up, makes it a little tough to remember. My parents are getting hit hard though. They grew up with these folks. They're taking round-trips west for funerals and it's like watching the ball at a tennis match.