Josh

I haven’t posted for longer than usual—things have been rather crappy lately.

On Tuesday, we learned that a dear friend of ours unexpectedly passed away, after a short illness—an illness so brief we didn’t even know about it. To say the least, we were—and continue to be—stunned.

What to say about Josh? He and his wife, Alison, were among the very first people we connected with after moving to the East Coast. Chris and Josh first hit it off over their mutual love of MASH reruns and The Economist. Josh and Alison were at every party, dinner, happy hour—everything. When I think of our DC life, I think of them and that scotch-is-always-a-bad-idea-after-vodka-and/or-wine-but-let’s-drink-it-anyway circle of friends. Terrifyingly smart, incredibly witty, Josh seemed to believe that he invented the concept of globalization, and once a report he authored was referred to in some Congressional this or that, there was no stopping it.

When some DC friends got hitched at Lake Tahoe, Chris’parents graciously let us, Josh, Alison, and our friend Jason use their vacation home there—they even hosted a barbeque at their house in Reno. And so the DC contingent was represented at Marc-Anthony and Kelli’s wedding. It is firmly etched into my brain the stellar idea the three guys had to take a dip in the lake on a breezy May day. Lake Tahoe is one of the deepest, coldest lakes there is, and those boys yelped and squealed like little girls. It took them ages to thaw.

Chris and I are in shock. It seems impossible that vibrant, brilliant person is no longer with us. I can hear the sound of his voice, clear as day. We’re sad—pure and simple. After years of education and hard work, Josh had hit his stride in his career. He and Alison had bought a house. Now, he leaves behind a fantastic, brilliant wife. And he didn’t get a chance to be a dad.

And I’m sad for Chris, who has lost a good friend. Even after Charlotte was born, the guys would plan happy hours and scotch-tastings in the city, which Chris—despite living in The Sticks—wouldn’t miss.

On Tuesday, I looked through lots of old photos, most of which cracked me up (two words: PROM PARTY) as well as made me cringe for letting parenthood get so much in the way of adult life. I flirted with the idea of adding some to this post, but I’d rather not do so without people’s permission. So, imagine 80s prom fashion, a slightly out-of-control downtown housewarming party, and a swanky Lake Tahoe wedding. Oh, and Halloween. Lord have mercy, HALLOWEEN.

In true Josh style, the memorial will involve drinks after. As that small scotch circle started arranging it, I mentally took roll to determine who would be there (and women are only included so we can drive our boys home after). Marc-Anthony and wife? Check. Jason and mistress? Check. Chris and me? Check. Josh and Alison? Oh. Wait. That’s right. And we remember all over again.

In the meantime, Chris has been in San Francisco most of this week and won’t be home until (sigh) late Saturday night. (He was in Chicago most of last week, and yes, I AM sick of him traveling. Why do you ask?) I miss Chris and wish he was here so we could just be sad together.

This just sucks.