Saturday, July 25, 2009
grace in small things #136 of 365
today i miss my uncle pat terribly.
i have a large family, but really we're a very small family.
my dad is an only child and my mother has one brother (who i usually only see 1 time every 7 years, but surprisingly he spent a week with us this summer, and it was really nice)
i bet you're wondering where the large family comes from then, huh?
my memere had a whole bunch of brothers and sisters, and they had quite a few children, etc.
so besides my 3 grandparents, parents and two brothers, i didn't really get close to the rest of my family. probably because i had a massive amount of family over the age of 75 when i was a little child.
EXCEPT for my aunt annie and uncle pat (and dorilla who was my memere's 110 year old sister...CUTEST LITTLE LADY EVER!!!)
i love, love, loved annie and pat. they were the most beautiful, wonderful people i could have ever had in my life.
i have a very, very special place in my heart for my uncle pat. he was such a personable, caring individual. he and annie were never able to have children, so i think he really looked at my father like his own. and since my pepere died before i was born, i guess i looked at him like my grandfather.
oh, how i loved him.
he had the best laugh ever. it was so damn loud. SO LOUD! it was loud and french. that is the only way i can describe it. it was what i loved most about him. i've only heard a laugh like his a few other times in my life. and it honestly breaks my heart to hear it.
at his wake, when my mother and i were paying our respects, i remember one of the most scary and magical things happened. i was kneeling in front of the casket. i had been just simply looking at him, and i was in the process of lowering my head to pray...
...and as i was doing it, i heard his laugh.
i jerked my head up and my mother also jumped a little and we looked at each other for a moment. we had both heard his laugh. obviously my uncle was dead. obviously his body didn't laugh. but i heard it.
my father says i heard my uncle pat's brother laugh and just "wanted" to believe it was his. but i honestly stalked this man (my uncle's brother) for the entire remainder of the evening and i know deep inside me that their laugh is much different. i liked that at his wake people were upbeat and joked and laughed a lot. but i honestly believe deep inside that was a special moment.
then years later, almost a decade i guess, i heard a laugh that was so similar i actually kind of freaked out. total anxiety attack.
i was sitting at work and all of a sudden... there was a laugh that was so darn close to my uncle pats. it was a man who i barely EVER see at work talking to someone a few doors down. i was so happy, yet so sad in that short moment.
i miss my uncle pat so much. he was such a beautiful man and if i could ever find a husband who was 1/4th as good and kind as him, then i would be forever lucky.
here's to you uncle pat. i will always hold you in my heart, and your laugh will forever be with me in happy times. i wish i could have known you as an adult, but i cherish my time with you as a child.
Labels: grace in small things
2 Comments:
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- Ink Obsession Designs said...
Jul 26, 2009, 9:45:00 AMThis is so sweet! And I totally believe you heard your Uncle Pat! :)- Chelsea Talks Smack said...
Jul 30, 2009, 5:07:00 PMthis was such a beautiful post
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