The Last Days of Summer

I should probably have entitled this posted as the last month of Summer since I have not blogged in almost 3 weeks. At the end of July, we took an unexpected trip to visit family in Kentucky. It was something I had been wanting to do for the longest time but because it had been forever since I had last seen this side of the family, I felt uncomfortable going without my mother. We were originally going to see them in November but our trip to the Outerbanks will conflict so, my mother called me up at the end of July and asked if I wanted to go. So off to Owensboro we went to visit my mother's older brother, Norman.

As a child, Uncle Norman was to me the exact living replica of Poppy the Sailor Man. He was a weight enthusiast back in the day and his arms and chest were broad and large. He had short hair and a large cleft chin. I absolutley adored him! Married with 4 children years older than any of us, we would enjoy going to see Uncle Norman and Aunt Ann just to spend time with them! They really showed interest in us even though they had children and grandchildren of their own. They always made us feel loved and special. The last time I saw them was at my wedding almost 8 years ago and for shame, I haven't done my part in keeping in touch.

It was of course the hottest summer in Kentucky and absolutley unbearable to enjoy the outdoors. Uncle Norman has something like 40 acres of land with a lake and orchards and it was just a shame that we couldn't stay outside without melting. The kids did get to pick apples and pears off Uncle Norman's trees. My mother and Veronica made apple pie and my mother also made a pear crumble, both were delicious! They fished in the pond one morning and then the rest was spent indoors.

Cousins came to visit. It was wonderful to be reunited with faces I hadn't seen in almost 10 sometimes 20 years. I hadn't really stayed in contact with my cousins because I really didn't feel they were interested in me because of our age gaps, but time has a way of making those gaps feel more like bridges and this visit really helped us bond again.