Saturday, July 19, 2008
Aunt Jean & Uncle Jack
My sister has been way out in western North Carolina all week, a lot closer to Dollywood than the beach, trying to convince a very elderly aunt & uncle (92 & 99), with the help of their grandson, that they need to move into assisted living or at least have someone on the premises every day. This is not an easy task. Our Aunt & Uncle were active into their 80's. They traveled the world, they were dedicated skiers. This aunt is the oldest & sole survivor of three siblings, my mom the youngest. My sister is especially close to them. She's named after our aunt, & our uncle has adored this particular niece from the day she was born. It meant he preferred her over the two nieces we considered serious party poopers at Christmas gatherings. I haven't seen them in - must be nearly 20 years, when they had recently taken an Amazon River voyage, uncle said he had a blast & aunt refused to get off the boat because of the bugs & heat but otherwise enjoyed the scenery. They were getting on in years then.
They seemed like total opposites. My uncle was an outgoing, playful, ageless preppie, funny, dapper dresser - if we were anywhere near the same size when I was in high school I would've begged him for his castoff clothes. My aunt was serious, kind of uptight, New England matronly athough they lived near New Brunswick NJ. The only time I had a "relationship" with my aunt was when I lived in New Brunswick & would drop by her office on the Douglass College campus of Rutgers, she was always glad to see me & chat for a few minutes although I had hair down to my shoulders, & wore fraying jeans & faded flannel shirts ( the standard egalitarian uniform of that time & this). They've been devoted to each other for seven decades.
Apparently, sister has the situation stabilized enough to return home. She probably wishes she could ship the two of them up to Jersey so when they need her she could just drive over in her car instead of packing her luggage & flying. At this point, the Smokey Mountain scenery has no advantages over the hills of Morris County.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
They seemed like total opposites. My uncle was an outgoing, playful, ageless preppie, funny, dapper dresser - if we were anywhere near the same size when I was in high school I would've begged him for his castoff clothes. My aunt was serious, kind of uptight, New England matronly athough they lived near New Brunswick NJ. The only time I had a "relationship" with my aunt was when I lived in New Brunswick & would drop by her office on the Douglass College campus of Rutgers, she was always glad to see me & chat for a few minutes although I had hair down to my shoulders, & wore fraying jeans & faded flannel shirts ( the standard egalitarian uniform of that time & this). They've been devoted to each other for seven decades.
Apparently, sister has the situation stabilized enough to return home. She probably wishes she could ship the two of them up to Jersey so when they need her she could just drive over in her car instead of packing her luggage & flying. At this point, the Smokey Mountain scenery has no advantages over the hills of Morris County.
Labels: growing up
