Aunties and Uncles

I talk abut my sisters a lot, I talk about my nieces and nephews a lot, I talk about my cousins a lot . . . but those aunties and uncles of mine? Well, they're what it's all about. They and my Mom and Dad started this whole thing . . .

We celebrated the life of our Uncle Frank Pomer this past week, and it was quite a celebration of life. Of his life well lived, of his life deeply loved, and as Uncle Brian so eloquently spoke of it, of his faithfulness as a friend.

A faithful friend.

And now we have discovered that our beloved and cherished Auntie Monica has also died. My Mom's younger sister. #8 to Mom's #7. Mother to six, grandmother to a million, wife to our beloved Uncle Jim McIntyre.

I don't mean to combine these two deaths and these two lives together. They are so different and so separate and so unique and separately are so important and so crucial to the families they have themselves created . . .

. . . but they are both ours. Ours. And we will miss them both so deeply.

Aunt Monica of the New Knees and New Hips, and Uncle Frank of the Smile and the Eyebrows. Which is approximately 1/1000 of what they mean to us.

We will celebrate our beloved Auntie Moni soon. We celebrated our beloved Uncle Frank last week, and here's a tiny sample of what he wrought . . .

His granddaughters Lauren and Kate and Jacquelyn and Cal were trying to get their cousin baby Henry to smile . . .

. . . and it worked!

. . . and man, was it entertaining . . .

. . . especially the whole Lauren's finger part . . .

. . .  yummy.

Love you guys. Heart, soul, strength, etc. The sendoff for Uncle Frank was off the charts.

And oh our collective hearts . . .

Rest in Peace, our beautiful and beloved Auntie Moni.