Every so often you come across someone, a celebrity of some sort, perhaps an actor, a singer or a writer who says something along the line of What Would Madonna Do – abbreviated as WWMD?

Last month my good friend Josh died. It was sudden, it is devastating. Josh was a friend for life, all my life really and I was his for his entirety. During the last year and a bit, especially, Josh and I became closer than ever. We would call each other at least once a week, if not more, to talk-talk-talk. The Covid-19 situation in Sydney came up for much discussion. Josh was a type 1 diabetic, and was also the recipient of a kidney transplant. He was immuno-suppressed and was extremely aware of how Covid would be deadly to him. Covid didn’t get him, complications overnight from diabetes most probably did.

During our chats we covered the waterfront, with so much laughter and so many funny stories. Joshua saw the humour in almost everything, and a chat with him generally meant that we both set about our day with our glasses much more than half full – his optimism matched mine and was so appreciated. He was thoughtful and caring, and delightfully opinionated. Though some topics I realised were way off the agenda we managed to cover the waterfront. He was the cousin you have when you chose the family, his parents have been my Aunty and Uncle – the whole family came as a package deal as Joy and Mum met so many years ago when they were training as nurses at St George Hospital. So between us we had a lot to talk about, and so much shared history.

Over the last few weeks since he died I have had Josh on my mind so very much. So many things that I know we’d have gabbed about, so much that has happened that I know he’d love to go over in high detail with me. As I said to his actual cousin aka Cousin Rebecca we have a swag of Josh-isms to look back on and chuckle about, he fitted so much into his 50 years and 6 weeks.

When we were in our early twenties we were a awesome force to be reckoned with. Josh and I would egg each other on into to much mischief, laughing all the way and wondering why we’d never thought of such a thing before. We just loved being out, together, and with his mates.

As I come to terms with the fact that I’m never going to hear his voice again, and look back at all the Josh I had in my life I know I’m often finding myself thinking What Would Josh Do? Now I’m just going to abbreviate it to WWJD, pull myself together and get on being the best Mary I can. I owe it to him!!

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