Family Ties

There are countless reasons why it is hard to be far from home, but the hardest part is feeling helpless when there's a difficult situation going on within the family. It's as if my body is here, but my heart is there. Even though I wouldn't be able to fix the problem, I'd feel better if I could at least be present. But since I am over a thousand miles away, I might as well use this blog for the reason it was created... to stay connected to the people I love. My uncle is having some complications right now, and without going into too much detail, I would like to request your positive thoughts, prayers, and well wishes. It has been encouraging to watch his three siblings, my Mom, Aunt Lori, and Uncle Jerry, look out for him and love him well during this time. And that's in addition to his amazing wife, my Aunt Cindy. Working at a nursing home, I see a lot of good families and I see a lot of distant ones. We're a good one, I am confident of that. They have hopped on planes, driven hundreds of miles, and made all sorts of arrangements to be present during this time. I think we owe a good bit of our family ties to Nana and Papa, who instilled positive family values in all of us. It is nice to have over ten shoulders to lean on.

So let me take a minute to give a well-deserved shout out to my Uncle Jiggs.... besides the one he already received for being the cool uncle that took me to my first drive-in movie. He's also the uncle that was in a fraternity and still won't reveal their secret handshake or traditions twenty years out of college. Uncle Jiggs was the first "frat guy" I knew of, and unfortunately not the last. I kid, I kid.... don't burn my house down Alpha Sigs. Until college, my only impression of a fraternity was slip and slide down a hallway after a huge party... that's the only story I remember him ever telling. Uncle Jiggs is the quiet but funny kind. Trust me when I say that I'm excited to hear that anyone reads my blog, but hearing that he enjoys it is a personal victory. Hands down, he is one of the funniest people I know. He's the real reason we ended up feeding Kevin Dillon a dirt burger at a family reunion. Uncle Jiggs was a bit younger than my Mom and Aunt Lori, so he and my Uncle Jerry were the young, cool uncles who put up with countless musicals and plays put on by the cousins every time we got together. We're talking every night of vacation. Patience is a virtue. And I'm sure a few beers helped as well. I still remember the first time he brought Aunt Cindy to meet all of the family. It was for a Stedge family reunion at my Nana and Papa's house in New Hampshire. Let me just start by giving major props to Aunt Cindy for braving that trip.... and surviving it. I remember how cool I thought she was because she wore her hair in a braid. And I'll never forget us cousins sneaking upstairs and finding the two of them locking lips in one of the bedrooms. We darted to the room next door and hid under the bed trying to stifle our hysterical giggles (I hate that word, but we were between the ages of 5 and 10.... we were clearly giggling). Two minutes later we hear a knock on the door followed by, "Giiiiirls....", and the giggling ensued. Ah, to be young and innocent again. Uncle Jiggs has always taken the time to teach us, talk to us, and play with us.... whether it was water-skiing, card games at the beach (where he gladly accepted our money that we lost to him and then was forced to give it back by our Mom's), walking through our "haunted mansions", or taking us to the drive-in movies. He is a great uncle, and an even better Dad. So to Uncle Jiggs... we love you and we're all pulling for you. P.S. Another quality of his might be that he hides when pictures are being taken because this is the ONLY one I could locate. It looks like it belongs on a motivational calendar, so maybe this will be inspiring. Ha ha...