Wednesday, April 21, 2010

April 22, 2010

To most this is just another date....
Or a reason to celebrate Earth Day....because you know we all want to.
For me, it's a day to stop and remember.
Remember an uncle...that left all too soon.
My Uncle Everett was really a brother.
An uncle only a year older than me.
We grew up 1/2 mile from each other.
He died 1 month shy of his 18th birthday...my junior year, his senior year.
It truly amazes me how 13 years can go by and yet, to me, it seems like just a flash.
I wonder, would Vance and him be friends or cautiously circle each other?
What would he be doing? Farming with Grandpa or have struck out on his own.
Kids?...Most definitely! One does not grow up being the uncle to over 20 nieces and nephews and not have a fondness toward kids.
What would he think of my kids?
Would he come watch them play ball and be present at dance recitals?
In some ways, time just stopped on that day. In my head, he's still almost 18 yrs old....but in real life he would be called Dad. A 31 year old man!
I can't imagine it...but yet I can! I can imagine him working hard, providing for a family, cherishing a wife...really I can and I'm sad. Not for him, but for me b/c I didn't get to see it. Most often I don't dwell on this life altering time in my life...I mean really, who can? You would sink into a depression so deep you could never get out. But today...today I'll allow myself to remember.

6 comments:

Bree Shaw said...

i can not even imagine. i would have loved to have known him. i can just about guess if you guys were as close as the stories you tell, you would still be close and he would be right in there rooting your kids on.hang in there today and if you need a pick me up.... call me. love ya!

Corin said...

Everett would have loved Vance, but I don't think he would have let Vance know that. I can totally see him and Colby being best buddies, fishing buddies. The thought of him and Emma together makes me cry. We are talking about a man who dealt with a lot (I mean a lot) of little girls. I can just see him listening to her stories and watching her dance. I can't tell you how often I think about him and wonder who he'd be today.
Love You! Let me know if you need a shoulder or someone to come over and nervously eat all the food in your house.

Anonymous said...

I love you...Kristina

Anonymous said...

Funny how some of those same thoughts were running through my head today also. Love you

Mom

Finding Joy in the Journey said...

We were all thinking of it today, huh? Know that you're hurting...love you!

Anonymous said...

I have never forgotten. Nor will I ever.