Mamuji is a term of respect in Urdu for the maternal uncle. When I visited my Uncle Jim in Pakistan in 1993, that’s what people told me I should call him. Two weeks ago, Mamuji died in Pakistan after taking ill a few months ago. I don’t know how to describe what kind of person he was, because no one else was like him. To say he was funny doesn’t do him justice. He was lovable. Robyn posted about him here, and what she says is true. It’s been amazing to hear what everyone has said about him over the last couple of weeks, and to realize that he was that special person to all of us. In some odd way, I feel like he embodied the essence of our extended family, the wire that runs through all our lives and carries on it a pulse of love and common experience.

Here is a lily for Mamuji, and for Brendan who came into the family a year and three days ago, and left it one year ago today. Remembering you both today.