Uncle Alan...

[fajrdrako]

I got a phone call from my cousin Mike today: my Uncle Alan died. He was my mother's older brother; he was 92 years old.

I knew him, but not well. We weren't close, but when we met we got along well. I had a sense that he was like my mother and like my Aunt Isie and hence like me. The last time I saw him was Aunt Isie's funeral. I feel the loss not so much of him but of that whole generation of siblings who had such an influence on my own life. Though I didn't really know him well in person, I knew him well from my mother's many stories; how he liked books and art and had a wry sense of humour and a sense of adventure.

This year, Uncle Alan sent me a Christmas card. I hadn't expected it - I don't know why not, since he and Auntie Jean had always sent me Christmas cards, but Auntie Jean had died and for some reason I didn't expect a card from an uncle of 92 whom I have seldom seen in my whole life. I was aburdly and deeply touched that he had sent it. That was a special kindness I never expected, and I appreciated it more than I can explain even to myself. Perhaps it mitigated, just a little, my sense of being alone in the world. Yes, I have the world's most wonderful friends, but I don't have family.

And now I have one less relative.

Comments

[haydenthorne.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear about your uncle. *hugs*

[sparklebutch.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry :(

[lmondegreen.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry :(
*hugs*

[kathyh]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your uncle. It's a strange sensation when the generation older than you die. *hugs*

[rosiespark.livejournal.com]

So sorry. ::hugs::

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thanks. (Hug)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thank you.... he was a nice man. My memories of his are random but pleasant.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Hugs back, and thanks. My pool of relatives seems to be shrinking rapidly!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It is strange, isn't it? All that knowledge of the past just disappears. And I think: All Grandma Rice's children are dead now, and hwo knows the stories? Me? A few cousins? And time just marches on. Thanks for the kind words.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Hugs back - thank you.

[goth-clark.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

[gem225.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Thank you for telling about your uncle.

*hugs*

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the hug and the comment. (*Hug* back.) Just seeing your icon cheers me up!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thank you for saying so. It makes a difference.

That's a lovely icon. Really.

[widget-alley.livejournal.com]

::glomptacklehug:: Friends can be family, sometimes.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

The best kind! Thanks. (Hug)