Tuesday, May 8, 2018
The two summers that I stayed with Auntie and Uncle in Radium, they'd load us kids up and take us to see Gramma and Uncle Lyle. He'd be the quiet chauffeur of us 3 kids, stopping every so often to buy us each a chocolate bar, a bag of chips and a pop. Let me tell you, that was the ideal road trip to a 15 year old kid!!!
The second summer that I stayed there, I was working for Smitty's restaurant. I'd have early morning opening shifts and late night closing shifts. My brain was having trouble keeping up so I'd find myself sleep walking in the night, bussing Auntie and Uncle's kitchen table. Auntie starts giggling and says, "Oh don't worry, we've been down this road before. When Uncle started at the mill, he was counting boards in his sleep. Except he'd get a few boards in, lose count and have to start over. So you'd hear in the middle of the night, "1-2-3 ... Oh shit! 1-2-3 ... damn!"
While I was there, Uncle never complained, always smiled with his eyes, loved Auntie to the ends of the Earth and taught the boys about love, hard work and respect. He didn't just love Auntie, he respected her and the boys saw that, learned from that.
At Jeff's wedding, My mom and Uncle Wayne were jiving, having so much fun and laughing so hard! If memory serves me, they got swinging around so good that they just about took out a kid on the dance floor, ha! Mom and Auntie Dorothy were always the dancing sisters. I loved watching them dance. I don't know, though, I think Mom and Uncle Wayne outdid them that night.
When Auntie Dorothy was in the hospital, Uncle Wayne, Auntie Barb and Mom were there to help her through. Every night I'd talk to Mom and she'd be laughing so hard, trying so hard to stop laughing long enough to get out another Auntie Barb and Uncle Wayne story. Those sisters supported each other through so much and Uncle Wayne was right in there to help keep the laughter going.
Auntie is one of the funniest and most fun loving people I know. Uncle Wayne was the perfect life partner and best friend for her. They raised two boys who melted my heart as teenagers with their gallantry and humour. They were never afraid of work, either. I was so proud to call them my family.
If anyone is around when the sisters get together and start telling stories, someone best be by with a pen and paper or voice recorder because by time they're done there will be a book of them to publish and I promise you Uncle will be right there in the middle of a lot of them.
Thank you, Auntie Barb, for sharing your best friend with the family xoxo
