I’ll never forget getting an email from my Aunt Janice before Brittain was born. Everyone was SO excited about Brittain’s arrival even to the point that the family had their names chosen for what they wanted Brittain to call them. Aunt Janice sent me an email one day saying that she had decided she wanted Brittain to call Uncle Terry, “Unc” and herself “Gran.”
That turned out to be just the beginning. After Brittain was born Aunt Janice and Uncle Terry jumped right in. At the time, Aunt Janice was still working, so they were limited to keeping her one day a week after school. Brittain LOVED her time with them, even if it wasn’t much, and it was obvious that Aunt Janice and Uncle Terry treasured their time with their great niece as well.
When Coleman came along Aunt Janice had retired and they volunteered to start keeping the kids on a more “regular” basis. Brittain’s schedule is jam-packed, and so is mine, so it worked out that Aunt Janice and Uncle Terry would keep Coleman while I volunteered at Brittain’s school every Tuesday and then they would keep him again while I took Brittain to gymnastics every Thursday. Brittain also got to have her day out with them every Tuesday afternoon after school. This schedule has worked out wonderfully, especially for me. I know it’s been wonderful for them as well. Brittain and Coleman, “our babies” as they call them are just that. My children are so blessed to have so much family that love them like this family does. Aunt Janice and Uncle Terry are like a third set of grandparents for the kids. They’re as close to them as they are to Gramy and Papa and Mimi and Doot.
But it seems like just when you get settled, just when you feel a bit comfortable, something happens that jolts you. And that’s what happened to us a few weeks ago when Uncle Terry found out his previously cured cancer had come back. Since that time it’s been a difficult road for him. I’ll skip the details and just say that that man has amazing strength and he has overcome obstacles that not many people could overcome.
Needless to say, the last few weeks have been rocky. I’ve tried to keep Brittain out of the loop somewhat. You never know how children will react to things and I didn’t want to take the chance of upsetting her. Coleman, while being too young to really understand, understands in his own way. He has his own way of expressing that he misses seeing his Uncle Terry and it’s just the sweetest thing you’ll ever see.
Uncle Terry, when you get a chance to read this I want you to know that we can’t wait for you to be back with us again. We’re praying for you and we know how hard you’re working so that you can be back with “your babies” again. We love you so much.
