Lamentations 3:20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
Growing up in Alabama with parents who were from distant parts of the country (Dad from the Mid-West and Mom from the Northwest), it wasn't like we were blessed with an extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins around us. My mother's parents died long before I was born and my Dad's father died long before I was born. I did know my one paternal grandmother but she lived one thousand miles away from us, so I didn't see her very many times. But I can tell you this... I loved her dearly. It was a blessing as a child when Dad's one brother and his family relocated to our town after his stint in the U.S. Navy. Otherwise we had to travel long distances to visit our "kinfolk."
It was Dad's sister's family (my Aunt Blanche) who was so much fun to visit in the mid-west. They lived on a farm, and that was always an exciting trip and a special place to spend a few days. I guess I was there only 2 or three times. I can recall two times~~ once as a child and then once as a young mother with a 5-month-old Amy in tow. That trip was made with Dad, Mom, Nonie, Amy and me. One thousand miles each way by car with an active 5-month-old. I don't remember much about it so guess it went okay. I do remember that I was away from Richard on my first Mother's Day and how much that bothered me.
Back to the farm...... When we visited Aunt Blanche and Uncle Alvin, we also got to see my one and only cousin from that branch.... Donald... and his wife, Helen. I would guess that they are about 18 years my senior so they probably didn't pay much attention to me, but I remember how much I looked up to them. It has been 32 years since I have seen them and had just about lost contact with them in the past 20 years but the wonderful world of internet has brought us back into contact. What a joy that is. Uncle Alvin and Aunt Blanche are no longer on this earth but it is nice to hear from Don and Helen... to hear about their boys and their families. This year, I received a nice collage picture of them by email. I asked permission to share as I just don't have much extended family to share about on my blog. So, here are Don and Helen and their sons Larry and Mark and their families:
Picture ID:
Sue and Larry on lower left
Mark and Mary on lower right;
Helen and Donald on middle left,
Chris and Brooke ~~ Sue's two children on middle right along with the three younger granddaughters on middle right
I hope that someday Richard and I can make a trip to visit these dear kinfolk!
.JPG)
