March 23,2021
Saturday is the memorial service for my Uncle T. I'm headed to Dallas to spend time with family. After the memorial, they'll have dinner at the house from Babe's, my uncle's favorite restaurant. If you haven't heard of it, it's just a southern cooking place. The original Babe's, his favorite , only served fried chicken & chicken fried steak, with the enphasis on fried. They brought a platter of chicken (what we all ordered), green beans, biscuits, gravy, creamed corn & mashed potatoes. Basically what we all grew up eating--my mom learned to cook from her mom so it's all in our blood. None of us really eat like that anymore but if it's in front of us we're all going to eat it. It's home cooking. Emphasis is on home.
My last uncle & his wife is coming too. He's 82 or so & while I worry about him traveling, he at least opted to fly instead of driving from Iowa. I'm looking forward to seeing them. With my Aunt B (Uncle T's wife) & Uncle D, that's it. The family memories from my Mom's family will be gone. There will be no one to call with questions if I have them later. And that's another death. My dad's last brother died 7 years ago. Some of my cousins on both sides know things but way less on my mom's side. While the siblings loved each other, their mom died young & they were not as close as the ones on my dad's side. I know it's inevitable but I'll still mourn that too.
Last time I was down I asked about a cousin of mom's & Uncle T's named Barbara Nell & what I knew about her was pretty limited. I know she had a mental disablity of some kind & lived with her sister in Denver. Aunt B said she used to call sometimes but they had not heard from her in awhile. My mom passed away in 2003 so we had not heard from her. What I remember is that a couple of times a year, mom would get a greeting card in the mail with a note & Barbara always used to ask mom to send her $5. Mom ususally sent her $20. I looked last night & found her obituary in Denver. She was 5 years younger than my mom & died in 2018. Information about her was never a secret but I never asked much. I used to see the cards & remember what mom told me when I was a little girl. I regret that I never asked more. And it makes my heart both hurt & rejoice that $5 from my mom could make her happy.
I'm looking forward to visiting with family even though crowds make me a little crazy. I have a rent car & a hotel room so I'll have some solace if I need it.
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