This has been a week full of memories for me, both happy and sad. Earlier in the week, one of my patients came in with a Jackson Perkins catalog. As soon as I saw it I thought of my dad. Every spring he would get one of their catalogs in the mail and he would inevitably order his roses from it. One year, he decided to order some grapevines. He thought he would put up a little arbor in the backyard and grow some grapes and maybe get enough to try his hand at making homemade wine. What he failed to realize was the fact that it takes a few years to get grapes hearty enough for wine. The first few summers we didn't get any grapes. Then, when the grapes finally started to come, the birds discovered them. Needless to say, he finally cut those grapevines down. The roses were always beautiful though. He worked hard to fend off the onslaught of Japanese beetles that plagued the roses each summer. He was so proud of those roses! Anyway, that was just something I thought of when I saw that catalog.
I found out on Monday night that there has been two deaths in the family. Not sure why I wasn't told sooner, but my brother didn't find out any sooner either. Both of them were uncles...my mother's brothers. That's an interesting family. Let me fill you in a little. My mom was one of 10 children. Her parents were poor farmers in the hills (deep in the hills!) of West Virginia. Her father died of a heart attack while he was out plowing fields one day, leaving her mother to raise all those children alone. The youngest child was born in 1935, so you can imagine that there was no such thing as public assistance at the time. They did the best they could. Mom used to tell me stories about how her mother would make them dresses from burlap sacks, and each girl had 2 dresses, one to wear and one to wash! Kids these days have no idea how lucky they are. Anyway, these two uncles were the last of those 10 kids, and I'm curious to see how much we all stay in touch now that they are gone. Uncle Don, Uncle Lenn, may you both rest in peace. You are with your family once again.
I found out on Monday night that there has been two deaths in the family. Not sure why I wasn't told sooner, but my brother didn't find out any sooner either. Both of them were uncles...my mother's brothers. That's an interesting family. Let me fill you in a little. My mom was one of 10 children. Her parents were poor farmers in the hills (deep in the hills!) of West Virginia. Her father died of a heart attack while he was out plowing fields one day, leaving her mother to raise all those children alone. The youngest child was born in 1935, so you can imagine that there was no such thing as public assistance at the time. They did the best they could. Mom used to tell me stories about how her mother would make them dresses from burlap sacks, and each girl had 2 dresses, one to wear and one to wash! Kids these days have no idea how lucky they are. Anyway, these two uncles were the last of those 10 kids, and I'm curious to see how much we all stay in touch now that they are gone. Uncle Don, Uncle Lenn, may you both rest in peace. You are with your family once again.
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