PEACE AND REMEMBRANCE

My sister, Dawn, died yesterday after struggling with cancer. This is her high school graduation picture.

Her first communion. Families mostly took pictures on special occasions.


Dawn, the oldest, Bill, the first son, and myself, the baby.
Then, another brother, Dan, peeking out of the car.


In her Air Force Uniform.  I idolized my sister when we were growing up.

We didn’t have a family picture taken until Dawn was married and had four children of her own.  In front is Norman, Mark, on Dad’s lap, Clark on Mom’s lap, and Dan.
Mark died at age 50 in 2005. Dan died at age 59 in 2002. It is hard to lose siblings. But, I’ve discovered that those we lose are never gone. They stay with us always. I am thankful for remembrance of the times we shared.

SIBLING CHRISTMAS

My sister Dawn spent Christmas with her immediate family in Chico and drove the three hours to my house on Dec. 28th. Brother Norman is my homeless brother and we all get together once a year at Christmas.  Norman is very political and shared all of the letters he has written to various newspapers and congress-people. We played Rummikub endlessly, it seemed with much fun and hilarity.


Yesterday, the rest of the family arrived, Clark, Bill, and Theresa, Clarks Finance. Bill lost his bid for congress. Without my glasses on, I didn’t realize I caught everyone with their mouths full.


We don’t exchange gifts, but Dawn bought me a shirt she couldn’t resist.

She knows I’m an avid fan of Downton Abbey. Mary from Downton Abbey is the figure on the right. If you don’t know the program, well, it may be hard to understand. We had a lot of fun, remembering the program which is set to begin a third series January 16th. I will miss it because I’ll be on the road with Jim.




We talked politics and solved the problems of the world in four hours. We reminisced about being raised with politics at dinner every night when we were growing up. We all have different solutions, it seems. We talked about our thinning ranks.


Dawn reminded me she will be 80 years old on her next birthday.


Norman is 66. Bill is 75. Clark is the youngest at 57. We’ve lost two brothers, Mark and Dan. So, we remember them and tell family stories. There is always a new one not everyone has heard before.  It is time well spent. Today, I un-decorate and say good-bye to another eventful year as I close the house, (mostly the refrigerator) and pack my bags and prepare to meet Jim. (Maybe I can hide the five pounds I put on over Thanksgiving and Christmas.)

GENERATIONS, MARRIAGE, RITUALS OF LIFE.

Marge and Gary Rowe celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with friends and family Saturday night. Gary's older sister celebrated her 50th a couple years back and his youngest sister will celebrate her 50th next year. Not only admirable but quite unique for a single family where every sibling is still with their original spouse.
Reminds me of a story when my oldest son was dating. He brought a girl home to meet we parents and Ken explained that she was quite nervous about meeting us because among her friends and acquaintances, (this was high school age) she didn't know anyone whose parents were still married to each other.
 
At the celebration, I also took a five generations photo. My cousin, stands next to his 94 year old mother, his son to his left, and his grand-daughter and her new baby complete the five generations. What a wonderful message of stalwart peoples, who have learned to take on life and play the hand they are dealt without caving in along the way.

Another sign of the test of time is Marge with her oldest friend-from kindergarten.

The DJ changed the music from hits of the fifties to more current tunes and the young people taught us some new, wild and crazy dance steps, kind of like line dancing.

With some serious moves on the dance floor, it was time to remove the spikes and get into it.

Like an Italian wedding, even the baby got a chance to dance, with Mom's help Sisters, and nieces...

 Son-in-laws and brothers..

 First cousins and second cousins..

and sons and daugthers,  all gather to honor their relative or friend in common, but also to share fond memories, and re-aquaint. and catch up with each other's families.

These rituals of life are an important element of family and thank goodness we had such a wonderful occasion to bring us all together.  Congratulations Marge and Gary.

SPREADING THE SEASON

With logistics in large families, its not always possible to get together on the actual holiday. It matters little when the really important element is just to get together once in a while. This week was siblings week. Three out of five brothers and my sister managed a holiday dinner that included brother Clark's daughter, Melissa and her daughter Stella.

Sweet Stella brought cookies she decorated for the occasion.

Norman, far left, last visited with family members 19 years ago. Far too long we decided.

Clark's family is complete, so of course we posed for pictures.

Brother Bill has been a bachelor for a long time. When his wife Sandi was alive, he teasingly called her Loni which stood for Little Or No Ironing. Now he demonstrates the way a bachelor can heat up leftover pizza if he doesn't own a microwave.
Catching up was fun. We looked at old family photos and enjoyed a lot of humorous stories of a life we shared long ago.
 Since I haven't had a signal I spent over an hour on the phone with technical support and finally got back on -line this evening. Even so, its with a catch. I have to stay plugged into my office attached directly to the modem. No wireless for me. It reminds me of the days when you had to stand within five feet of the phone to speak to anyone while the kids plundered the dresser drawers knowing you were tethered.  But, it was fine for its time. Now, wireless is the way to go.

MORE RUMMAGING THROUGH THE PAST YEAR

My house burned down to the ground while I was at school in 1947. The bus driver drove up to the still smoking coals of what had been a two room log cabin in Hardwood, Michigan, looked at it from his driver's seat, than drove back to the bus stop at a cross road, about a half mile in the direction we had just come. He dropped myself and my siblings off on the road, and drove away. Neighbors Bernice Cousineau and Patsy Robinson were also dropped at that stop and I flew down the road to Cousineau's, bravely ignoring their bull, which terrified me, waiting for no one. My siblings opted for Robinson's house. It was a traumatic time and we soon removed a couple days later to Massey's place, a tiny two room shack with a chicken coup my dad turned into a bedroom. From there, he sold our land and got a job in the city of Escanaba and I never saw my childhood friends, Bernice and Patsy again. However, after several years of trying to find me, out of the blue several months ago, I received a call from Patsy Robinson Whitfield. She and Bernice were determined to track me down and finally succeeded. What joy and happiness that call gave me. We will meet again in September of 2009. What they conveyed to me is that the event was traumatic to them as well, for they had a friend and it was as though I had disappeared, as I truly did, and they always wondered what ever happened to me and my family. Interestingly, I had never considered the perspective of my young friends. I imagine there was a bond to this event that kept them considering after 60 plus years. And I, too, thought many times of them. Our friendship can pick up where it left off, those many years and miles ago.

On the ramblin front, Jim and I biked on the canal now that the weather is clement and we spot these peacocks along the road periodically. Beautiful, aren't they?