Jewells of Thought

My summer has officially begun as of last Friday. Somehow my niece has shaken up our usual schedule and we don’t know what’s going on except for a couple of facts. One being that my Dad and brother head to work at nearly 4 and Selena knows she wants to be out if we are going out.

However, she has also had some tag-alongs this week so when we go out that means her friend or friends also come along. It means a full car. Especially now that my car doesn’t have very good air conditioning and Uncle Tony’s is being serviced today.

Wednesday evening my Mom and her Aunt Helen which is my Great Aunt as well decided to surprise their Uncle Dick. It was his 85th birthday. We only had one extra girl that evening, but she got an earful from all three of my elders. My Great-Great Uncle Dick, Great Aunt Helen and my Uncle Mark. It’s times like these that I really miss Grandpa Freddy and Grandma Rosemary they would have loved an evening like this cake and conversation.

All three of these elders can talk and we got there at 7:30 and didn’t leave until after 10 pm. Helen and Mark didn’t get there until after 8, but they might have stayed later if they hadn’t parked behind us. We had 4 generations of our family in Dick’s house that night. He was my Grandma’s Uncle and was one of 12 siblings, my Great Grandma was the eldest.

Grandma Mary had been married 5 times too. Each husband including her first which was my Great-Grandpa died of natural causes. He had an appendix that was gangrene and the doctor was inept putting heat on the area. The other husbands died from illness or from working at the Mine. Aunt Helen Grandma’s younger half sister and Uncle Mark her only step brother. She was carrying Mom when her Mom was carrying her baby brother.

We are getting to see more of Uncle Mark now than I have really noticed before. In a way it’s nice although I’m sure Grandma would have liked to see more of him then. I was looking at him and it was like I was seeing glimpses of Grandma in him especially his eyes.

The whole night was just surreal. When we first got there Uncle Dick was already in bed he’s not got as much get up and go and yet he’s still got it in ways. He’s rarely at a loss for conversational bits. The girls had their devices, but it was fun listening to Selena laugh at the stories they were all telling. She was reveling in helping with the ice cream as Mom cut out the birthday cake. He had to put his rambunctious dog downstairs so she wouldn’t be all over us, but that little party did him and us some real good.

One other family story he told us that evening had to do with a map he had against the wall on the north side of the living room. It said Scotland. He had a friend from school a few years ahead of him both their fathers immigrated from Ireland. Grandma had talked about this a little bit but hearing it from Uncle Dick was really cool. So this means that friends father and Uncle Dick’s and Grandma Mary’s father came originally from Ireland than spent some time in Scotland before coming to America. That guy gave him this map that he got when he went back to Scotland to find out some history and genealogy of before his father passed away. I instantly noticed the map when we arrived I love looking at maps and this was as tall as my niece and awesome sized map. I could have stayed longer to listen to him to talk about anything. We will have to take him up on that offer to come back and talk another night.