Don't Even Know Where to Begin....

Bob and Uncle Dick

I guess start with today, sad news, Bob's beloved Uncle Dick passed away.... if you have been following this blog you know that the only relatives of Bob's who truly supported Bob & me when we married were his Aunt Mary and Uncle Dick, and they regularly visited (when Bob was well) and kept on visiting post-stroke and called often and Bob always said he wished they were his parents -- Bob truly loved them and vis-versa...

During his childhood, Bob would spend summers with his Aunt and Uncle, Aunt Mary told me they did this because Bob was the only boy in his family and wasn't allowed "to be a boy" and everything was about the girls (his sisters). Aunt Mary and Uncle Dick had the "let boys be boys" mentality and Bob would tell me about happy summers spent with his cousin Mark digging up the back yard, building forts, "digging a hole to China" and how once the dog fell in and had to be rescued and how Uncle Dick would make breakfast in the morning but I guess he wasn't a great cook because he served "awfuls" and "french crud" (waffles and french toast) and that was an ongoing joke...

And when Bob's aunt and uncle visited us, Uncle Dick used to love "porch sittin' time" which was a phrase Bob & I used for the time of day, after work, when we would sit on the front porch and talk. Dick would always say, when he called, "We're coming down for some porch sittin' time"!" and when I talked with his son, Mark, today, to offer my condolences he told me that his dad often spoke of us and how much he loved our visits and especially talked about "porch sittin' time" to the point that Mark requested the ALS where Dick spent his last months install a park bench outside in the backyard so that his father could go outside for "porch sittin' time" and they did it, and Mark said he would say to his father, "Dad, you want to go outside for some porch sittin' time?" and his father's response was always "Hell, yes!"

And I tell you, I have been crying, off and and on, all day, missing this wonderful man and remembering happy memories.  And I want to believe that Bob and Uncle Dick are on the "other side" eating "awfuls and french crud" and having some good old fashion "porch sittin' time"...  

PS: other crap going on here, been a busy, stressful few days ---  I'll catch you up later...