Aunt and Uncle Visit - Wow
I know you're probably a little stunned, Ma. I was sure surprised to get a phone call from my Uncle Keith day before. My heart instantly sank. You know how it does when you hear from someone unexpectedly in the family but it was good news, he and Aunt Jeannie are driving down to Florida and coming right by our house. Did I want to meet them for dinner last night?
You bet!
Well, I met them at Folks last night. Being a Georgia chain I thought there was a good chance that they hadn't been before and I was right. The service was great, food was awesome (Uncle Keith had two helpings of the Talpia fish). It was surreal seeing Aunt Jeannie again. I was, what, 12 or 13 last time?
Family news: Aunt Mert's daughter died of cancer and Mert has Alzheimer's. Millie is still working (wow!). Aunt Jeannie's son has MS and it's in the later stages. He was a Marine, Ma! Bobby Jr, as you know, died when he was 20. An old man ran a light and plowed right into Bobby Jr's motorcycle as he was crossing an intersection. Bobby had a helmet on but his head hit the curb. With or without the helmet it wouldn't have mattered.
Aunt Jeannie saw my father the day he died. He dropped by her job with a bunch of lumber in the back of the auto and told her he was going to build a doghouse. You know the rest, they found him in the backyard. He had been mustered out of the military because of his heart, apparently it was so bad they couldn't even operate. Grandma went early with a heart attack, Uncle James had heart problems (triple by-pass before he was 60 and dying in his early senior years), Grandpa too. Diabetes is also very strong in the family. Good things to know and tell my new doctor when I go in.
Aunt Jeannie said she sees bits of Dad in me (she called him Bud, I didn't know that) and some of grandma Cooper. She asked if I had any pictures of Dad and said all their pictures had been lost in a flood. I offered to find all the ones I could and scan them for her and that pleased her. She said Dad's temper was explosive and he could be very stubborn. I told them how you met Dad and where you got married, they didn't realize it was in MO. I told them the story about the moonshine.
We talked for quite awhile and I got photos of me and Aunt Jeannie and one of both of them. I gave them one of the family pictures we had taken this last summer and that surprised but pleased them. We talked a little about losing you and how fast it happened. It still stuns me, Mom. And it hurts.
I showed off pictures of the house I took on Jackie's camera before I went and pictures of some of art work and beadwork. It's nice to be able to say that we have a 3 bedroom house that's almost 2,000 sq feet on 2 acres of land. Aunt Jeannie is very allergic to cats and they aren't coming this way on the return trip so they won't see the place - a mix of good and bad. You know we're proud of the house but I'm always nervous at people seeing the half finished projects, you know?
I am so happy I got to see them. It felt good. The family is getting smaller on both sides. I'll post the pictures of them in a bit.
You bet!
Well, I met them at Folks last night. Being a Georgia chain I thought there was a good chance that they hadn't been before and I was right. The service was great, food was awesome (Uncle Keith had two helpings of the Talpia fish). It was surreal seeing Aunt Jeannie again. I was, what, 12 or 13 last time?
Family news: Aunt Mert's daughter died of cancer and Mert has Alzheimer's. Millie is still working (wow!). Aunt Jeannie's son has MS and it's in the later stages. He was a Marine, Ma! Bobby Jr, as you know, died when he was 20. An old man ran a light and plowed right into Bobby Jr's motorcycle as he was crossing an intersection. Bobby had a helmet on but his head hit the curb. With or without the helmet it wouldn't have mattered.
Aunt Jeannie saw my father the day he died. He dropped by her job with a bunch of lumber in the back of the auto and told her he was going to build a doghouse. You know the rest, they found him in the backyard. He had been mustered out of the military because of his heart, apparently it was so bad they couldn't even operate. Grandma went early with a heart attack, Uncle James had heart problems (triple by-pass before he was 60 and dying in his early senior years), Grandpa too. Diabetes is also very strong in the family. Good things to know and tell my new doctor when I go in.
Aunt Jeannie said she sees bits of Dad in me (she called him Bud, I didn't know that) and some of grandma Cooper. She asked if I had any pictures of Dad and said all their pictures had been lost in a flood. I offered to find all the ones I could and scan them for her and that pleased her. She said Dad's temper was explosive and he could be very stubborn. I told them how you met Dad and where you got married, they didn't realize it was in MO. I told them the story about the moonshine.
We talked for quite awhile and I got photos of me and Aunt Jeannie and one of both of them. I gave them one of the family pictures we had taken this last summer and that surprised but pleased them. We talked a little about losing you and how fast it happened. It still stuns me, Mom. And it hurts.
I showed off pictures of the house I took on Jackie's camera before I went and pictures of some of art work and beadwork. It's nice to be able to say that we have a 3 bedroom house that's almost 2,000 sq feet on 2 acres of land. Aunt Jeannie is very allergic to cats and they aren't coming this way on the return trip so they won't see the place - a mix of good and bad. You know we're proud of the house but I'm always nervous at people seeing the half finished projects, you know?
I am so happy I got to see them. It felt good. The family is getting smaller on both sides. I'll post the pictures of them in a bit.
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