Uncle Cy is mom's older brother. At almost 90 years old, he is almost deaf. From what I understand, he is still spry and walks to school every afternoon to pick up his granddaughter. He lives in Memphis, so it has been years since I've seen him.
Uncle Cy is my Godfather, which means he promised to help raise me in the Catholic faith when I was Baptized almost 58 years ago. I'm not sure I can say he had much to do with my faith... there was no need for that since my own parents did the job as good as some and better than most. But he did always treat me as his special little niece and has never failed to make me laugh.
So when we decided to meet our friends from Wisconson in Memphis (my chat friends who read my blog will know them as Snowman and Kris), I had to call Uncle Cy.
Here is how the conversation went:
UC: Hello
Me: Uncle Cy! This is Deanna
UC: Leann?
Me: No! Your niece, D E A N N A!
UC: Oh, Deanna! How are you?
Me: Great. We are coming to Memphis
UC: What?
ME: Jim and I want to see you.
UC: Jim died?
ME: Noooooo..... We... Jim and me... want to come see you (I swear I am yelling and speaking very slowly at this point). We are going to be in Memphis.
UC: When?
ME: Sunday
UC: What day?
ME: S U N D A Y!
UC: Ok.
ME: I talked to Lisa (his daughter he lives with) and got directions
UC: You will need directions. I need to give you Lisa's telephone number.
ME: I TALKED TO LISA!
UC: You talked to Lisa?
ME: Yes. I will call you Saturday to tell you what time we will be there Sunday.
UC: I go to Church at 4:00 on Saturday.
ME: We will come on Sunday
UC: That is good. What time.
Great pause on my part at this point.
ME: I love you Uncle Cy. I will call Lisa.
UC: I love you too.
I swear he had a catch in his voice at that point. He wasn't able to make it to my mom's or dad's funeral or his other sister's funeral. I hope to make this trip again soon to travel with his "baby" sister, who is dying to see him again but won't make the trip alone. It is the least I can do for them.
I love you Uncle Cy. Thank you for that "walking doll" you gave me when I was 4.
Deanna
18 comments:
so glad you will get to see Uncle Cy. There is something special about Godparents, isn't there? my two have already passed but they always did treat me very kindly and uniquely
I hope you all have a great visit and good for him for getting out and still being active with picking up his grand-daughter, going to church etc
betty
Hope you have a good visit. Travel safely!
How nice. Love my Godparents too. Very special people. I think they have a bit better hearing than Cy does, but they are a few years behind him in age. Cute story.
Di
The Blue Ridge Gal
Deanna, I want an Uncle Cy! Sweet that he got emotional on the "I love yous". Guess he was hearing them! Nice post to start my day :)
That is so sweet. I know you will enjoy every second with Uncle Cy. Those days are priceless, for sure.
My Great Uncle Cy is a very special man alright. He has always held a special place in my heart. Like my Mom Uncle Cy always made me feel special when he was here to visit. I always got so excited when Mom and Dad told me that Uncle Cy and Aunt Helen were coming to town ( I am pretty sure his Wifes name was helen. Am I right there Mom?) I hope oyu all have a wonderful time there and give Uncle Cy a HUGE hug and kiss from me.
Drive carefull ,take lots of pictures,enjoy your vist,take your time. the old people we have left are very precious.
Three ole guys are out on the golf course and first one says,..Windy today isn't it?..second guy says..No ..thursday i think..third guy says ..me too .. lets go get a beer..chuckles..Ya ole Pal JR
He sounds precious! I hope you have a great time- this may be the last time you see him so make it special. That conversation with him is hilarious though! Are you having the beautiful weather that we are? I hope so!
Aww...what a touching post. :) I hope you enjoy your time with your Uncle Cy. And I hope you're able to return soon with his "baby" sister so she can see him, too. My Godparents were my paternal grandparents. Gone but not forgotten.
Have a safe trip and have fun visiting with Snowman and Kris.
I hope you are having a great visit!! AND....hurry up and claim your prize over on my blog!!!
I am Cy's daughter, Lisa, and before Deanna can get home and post her blog I would just like to say how wonderful a time we had yesterday visiting. Deanna cried as she hugged my father which in turn brought tears from my sister, Linda and I. It is hard to describe how close we all are even though the distance is great and the visits get farther and farther apart.
There were eight children in my fathers family and the genes are pretty darn close. Jim was talking about the "Forck" dance. Indescribable to non-Forcks but distinguishable none the less.
My Forckism is the love. Whenever my life gets rough I know I can call an Aunt or Uncle and I can get a "warm fuzzy" unconditionally.
I have over 50 first cousins. There were two groups of us in my mind. The ones my sister's genereation : the now 60ish group and the ones my age: the now 40 almost 50ish group. Obviously I am closer to the ones my age. When I say close, those who have not experienced our family cannot imagine. Because my sister is 13 years older than I am, some of my cousins are like sisters to me. And yes, I mean, that close. It is like having a really big pool of unconditional love. (why am I so sappy this morning?) It is true though. My sister, and my "sister" cousins are the best.
Dad, or Uncle Cy, as Deanna would say, is the wild child that every family has and that everyone loves. Full of life at 89. Full of spit and vinegar too. Old, crotchety, ornery, and big old Teddy Bear. Deanna, so glad you could see him and give him a little touch of Aunt Margaret's love!!!
Wow - between the original post and Lisa's touching comment - I'm all shiny-eyed. :)
I hope you had a great trip Punkn and you get home safely.
I second that, Iggy. Very touching comment, Lisa.
Wow, sounds like the visit was FULL of love!! Big families are so awesome!!!!
Deanna? Your prize is already on the way. I either have everyone's address or know someone who does, lol!!!
The Queen Knows All!!!
Lisa, what a sweet comment. We had such a wonderful time. I've been trying to do a blog post and for once I am pretty much overwhelmed. Where to start. There is no end...
I just realized another similarity. Our writing styles.
Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments about Uncle Cy and my awesome family. I promise I will post photos soon!
Aw. This post was so sweet. Have a wonderful visit.
Well, you got there in the end. :)
That is too funny!!!!!
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