Tomorrow, my uncle Larry will turn 50. Thing is, my uncle is 3 years younger than I am and I think of him as uncle only by family title. We have had this wonderful friendship for these past 50 years.
Larry was a warm and loving child. I always liked Larry cause whenever I was with him I just felt comfortable. He always embraced my fun loving nature and he always accepted me for who I was. Thing is, he still does.
My father was the oldest of thirteen children, Larry was the youngest. Our family gatherings were always a big occasion to be sure. My brother Dan, Heather (my aunt of one year younger), Larry and myself always hung out together as children. From lip-singing, air guitaring, Beatle tunes, to weekend camp outs, we kept each other company. But as the years passed, geographically we became quite distant… 3,410 kms. to be exact! That never stopped Larry from keeping me informed of family happenings. Larry calls me about every 6 or 7 weeks to see how I am or to fill me in on family news and I cannot tell you just how much that means to me.
Two summers ago I finally had the opportunity to spend a week with Larry and his wife and to also go to the annual family picnic gathering. I had such a blast! I am the oldest of 28+ first cousins (I won’t even go into counting second cousins!). Many I had not seen in 30 years. There was a lot of catching up to do that’s for sure. And when I had to leave, I felt so sad in my heart because I realized just how much I missed being around this remarkable, loving family.
We take the simplest of things so for granted some times.
So today I’d like to honour my uncle Larry. May you live another 50+ years… and I can just see the two of us, hearing aids and canes, and still loving friends!
Happy 50th Birthday Larry!
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