Family, Love That Never Seems To Fade

I hurt a lot this morning. But it was worth it. It was about a two hour drive down to Bay City (Back in the day it was longer but since they bumped the speed limit up to 75mph you can get places a lot faster). I got to see all but one of my aunts and uncles and their families (essentially my cousins that I grew up with and their kids). It was a bit emotional seeing everyone again. The last time we were all together was my aunt’s funeral several years ago. That time I was able to talk Mom into going down with me. She enjoyed her time but more importantly reconnected with the family. Dad’s side of the house still considers her a part of the family. I think she feels she doesn’t deserve it because of how much she hates my Dad. She stayed in touch for a little while but now she’s back to contact just through me. Anyway, I found out that my Aunt’s cancer is back and there is nothing they can do to remove it. That was a hard blow. I have always been pretty close with that Aunt. Everyone is getting older but I still see them as I did when I was a kid. I am the oldest grandchild/niece/nephew on my Dad’s side so I got pretty close to everyone when I was little. Once everyone started getting kids of their own we were still close but now they had their own little one to lavish love on.

I got surprisingly close to all of my cousins yesterday. It almost never happens. I am barely around so I am not part of the family that is always there to help on a daily basis. I think that I was resented for a bit because my aunts and uncles still really care about me despite the distance. But yesterday I got a hug and “I love you” from each one. Even the kind of standoffish ones talked with me. I also spent some quality time with one of my cousin’s sons who was really into photography. As a matter of fact I had to go over to get some thing from their house and he insisted on showing me his gear. He is amazingly talented and knows way more than I do. But it sounds like he has been serious about this for quite a few years. All in all a good visit. I always find it interesting that I hang with the “adults” and not my cousins. I have always been that way. Better stories! Lol.

I got some physical gifts to take home as well. My Aunt made a witch towel as well as a pot holder and little scrubbie pad for dishes. My one cousin gave me freeze dried ice cream, peaches and bananas. My Uncle got me some really cool puppy treat pans. They are made out of rubber so I can either cook my treats or put them in the freeze. One pan is paw prints and the other bone shapes. And…. the big gift is my Grandpa’s flag from his coffin. I got that after all the cousins and their families had gone. All the Aunts and Uncles thought I should have it since I have the dog tags from family that has been in the military. It means a lot. It even survived the fire at my Aunt and Uncle’s house. Pretty much the whole house went up and they lost everything. But the flag survived. And now I am it’s care taker. Chris pointed out an empty shelf that I can use here in the living room. I think I might dig out my photo of Grandpa and Grandma and put that up there as well.

I did get a few photos. Not as many as I hoped but I was busy spending time with the family. That was more important. I did get some sunset photos as well as some of the sassy moon last night. I hope you like them. Sorry this on is so long. Thanks for reading! Stay safe!