My dad is a family man! Growing up I knew with out a doubt that he loved me, my sister and mom. He also had tremendous love for his brothers and sisters, and parents. He is a very loyal man. So you can image the sorrow that hit him, when his brother was first diagnosed with cancer and then just a few weeks later with kidney failure and then a few days later he passed away. My dad was by his side for the last week of his life, comforting him and loving him. I love my dad for that! And certainly, I loved my uncle too.
My uncle Dan was a fabulous ball room dancer, an antiquer who gave us an antique china set for our wedding, and fabulous baker most known for his carrot cake. His most notable legacy might be how kind he was. He had a room full of friends at his funeral and most of them very very close, in fact close enough that over 100 of them visited him in the hospital. He will be missed by so many.
The 7 of us filled up our mini-van and drove to his hometown of Fargo, ND to celebrate his life ... and of course to give my dad some extra hugs too!
The kids spend a total of about 16 hours in the car round trip, sat still and quite for several events and meals, and were fairly good confined to a small hotel room at night. They were great kids. We did manage to get a quick hour of playing in the pool in and a few card games, before we came back to life here.
I am sad for the accession that brought us there, but I am grateful that I got spend that weekend with family both close and extended and grateful for the pause button it forced so we could embrace and reflect on life and eternity.
