As I was poised to become an aunt this week, I lost an uncle. As some of you know, my dad’s brother – and my godfather – had a stroke on Monday and died yesterday.

The last few days have been really weird. I told Q that it felt surreal to be waiting for news about the birth of one family member (Jenny’s due-date was Sunday), while also awaiting news on  the death of another. I can’t help but think about the circle of life, and how these things come to pass. Someone wonderful is about to enter the world, just as someone wonderful has left it.

My uncle’s passing has also made me think about childhood and, naturally, my memories of him. He liked to do that thumb magic trick for me when I was little. He and my dad took me to my first Packers game. He never forgot a birthday and always signed his cards with a “You’re not getting older, you’re getting better.” He liked to say, “Ya betcha.” He always had a smile on his face. He and my dad loved to laugh – and tell stories of the naughty things they did growing up and in college – together.

We weren’t terribly close geographically, but he was a definite presence in my life. And it’s comforting to know that my kids will someday have memories of their own beloved relatives. The circle continues…

-M

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 at 12:58 pm and is filed under 74.Two kids-August 12. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.