February is normally a pretty good month for me. Birthday month, Valentine's Day (iffy some years, but I still would get candy and cards from my parents regardless for many years).. and there used to be a holiday in there when I was in school, but not many employers honor President's Day anymore (another reason why I wish I was still in school at times). Anyway.. this past February wasn't anything like I had experienced in the 25 years leading up to it.
On February 13th, my uncle passed away unexpectedly leaving some of the people I love the very most absolutely devastated. My grandmother and grandfather lost their only son and mama lost her baby brother, after just 47 years of life. The first of those two, I can't even fathom because I have no children yet, but I can only begin thinking about what it would feel like if I ever lost any of my brothers and it immediately moves me to tears. Over the years and for various reasons, Brian (my uncle) had become sick with Hepatitis and progressively got worse. While he was sick, no one expected him to leave us so quickly (doctors included). So again, devastation set in for many in my family. We ended up having his funeral service on February 17th, which was my birthday. So that will be a birthday that will be remembered for all the reasons you wish that it wasn't. But.. that's the way it goes sometimes. And several months later, there were still a lot of decisions to be made that no one was totally ready for. But then again, when are you really ready for something like that?
So, one of the main reasons I wanted to write about all this was really to bring light to the happier days of my childhood. But I had to start with what I did, in order to end up here. So yesterday, one of my brothers (Jeremy) and I had to make a trip to Watha, NC (yes, Watha.. not even a stoplight) in order to move some of the furniture out of the house where my uncle had been living. He was actually living in the house built (partially) by my great-grandfather. The same house we used to come to on Sundays and eat an absolute FEAST because Nanny didn't exactly support portion control. So much food.. and always macaroni and cheese on the table for me :) There was no way I was going to eat those "alligators" (okra), or those "trees" (broccoli). But before we dug into the macaroni and cheese and whatever else the others were eating (was there anything else?), was when I began the meal w/ the Lord's Prayer. However, no one told me until I was in.. oh.. say high school that I had been saying it wrong. I still get confused around one part, because I'm not sure which is right. Don't worry - I'm the same child that used to say the Pledge of Allegiance and would proudly recite "..And to the bucket for which it stands.." Yep, that was me. Hard to believe I was the Valedictorian that very same year in kindergarden. I kid you not.
My great-grandfather's barn where he kept his tractors and other equipment. Also where my brother often kept this stupid rubber snake that he terrorized me with.
Where the chicken house used to be, straight ahead. The tree to the left had a little stoop where Nanny would leave scraps for the stray cats after supper every night.
Another fun fact.. we used to play in that tree as well.. at one point, we (really meaning my environmental engineer brother - of course) had a bicycle hanging from one of the limbs, like a swing. (Envision something similar to ET here)------------------------------------------------------------
RIP William "Cedrice", Grace, and Brian
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