The Good Uncle
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| Uncle Yonnie and Aunt Honey |
There once was a little girl with russet curls who had two uncles who adored her. That little girl was me.
I am told I was just a year and a half when I spoke in complete sentences. Apparently, I was a regular little Shirley Temple, eager to please and to entertain!
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| Uncle Cecil |
My Uncle Yonnie was around 17 years old and Uncle Cecil was 15 when I was born. They hung out at our house when they weren’t in school or working on Grand-pop’s farm.
My mother swore that both my uncles brought their dates around to show me off.
Hyperbole? I really don’t know.
Yonnie remained a part of my life when he married and had 3 children of his own.
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| Honey and Yonnie |
I think he loved me even when I was a horribly obnoxious teen.
Our extended family remained close as the years passed … grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.
Family!
There were two major events early in my adulthood when the strength of my family’s love would be tested.
I was the victim of a drunk driver in the third year of my teaching career. I had been visiting a girlfriend who lived an hour from home. That’s why after the car crash, I was taken to Riddle Memorial Hospital in Media.
It was a long hospitalization, following which I needed to rehab at Riddle, too far from my home in Spring City.
Honey and Yonnie offered their home to me as I healed. It wasn’t easy, as they soon realized. My recovery was long and complicated, but they did everything they could. They cared for me, as if I were a wounded bird!
All this while they were raising their own children, a 9-year-old and 2 teens!
The true test came when I met Lou.
(To understand, read “Good Knight” earlier in my blog)
My aunt and uncle were religious Jews. Lou was a Catholic.
They worried that having Lou in the house while we were dating would set a wrong example to their children. A Jew dating a Catholic? This created a crisis of faith for them.
But, true to form, their love for me won out.
They welcomed Lou into their home. Every day. For 3 months, until I was able to return home in early fall.
The next test was our wedding a year later.
Shortly before the wedding, my dad broke his hip and couldn’t walk me down the aisle. My brother was in the Navy, halfway around the globe. So that also was not an option.
What to do?
Lou and I examined our options.
Since Honey and Yonnie were there for us from the beginning, we decided to ask Yonnie to walk me down the aisle!
We approached him with trepidation, knowing that, if he agreed, it would be another crisis of faith for him.
But, true to form, his love for me won out again!
Honey and Yonnie are gone now, but I hold their love close to me, like a warm hug! ❤️
Sacrifice … love … family!
I’d like to hear your family story of love and sacrifice!
I’m listening!
Etlainie92@gmail.com