Aunt Ronnie and Uncle Jimmy Gildea

I have such fond memories of my Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Ronnie. Aunt Ronnie is my mother's cousin.

Uncle Jimmy....what a great guy. I remember as a child he would greet us with an "Eskimo kiss." I still wanted to do that as an adult whenever I saw Uncle Jimmy. I also remember a conversation that I had with him telling him that I really like the little crinkles at the corners of his eyes....I am pretty sure that made him feel good. I have no idea how old I was then.

Once when Uncle Jim and Aunt Ronnie were visiting, I called my Mom's house from work...between dialing and the phone being answered I forgot who I was calling. I just stayed on the line thinking I would recognize the voice of the person who answered. Not a glimmer of recognition. I apologized and tried to hang up. The conversation when like this:

Aunt Ronnie: Hello.
Me: Hello...oh, I'm sorry. I must have the wrong number.
Aunt Ronnie: You might not, who are you calling?
Me: No (still not remembering)...I am sure I have the wrong number.
Aunt Ronnie: You might not.....
Me: I am sure I do. Thank you.

A few minutes later, I remember I was calling Mom and Aunt Ronnie was there. So....I called back.

Aunt Ronnie: Hello.
Me: Hi! Can I talk to my Mom?
Aunt Ronnie: (in the background) It's the crazy lady!!!!

What a laugh we had that day.

When I visited Ohio with my Dad and my sister both in 2006 and in March of 2008 for a funeral, we just could not stay away from Aunt Ronnie. She is still so much fun.

In 2006 we ended up having to take notes to get some of her recipes and different household hints - Dad always said my Mom (Ronnie) was the best cook west of the Rockies and my Aunt Ronnie was the best cook east of the Rockies. Also in 2006, my Uncle Jimmy had passed away three weeks before our arrival. As we were planning our trip, we had been looking forward to seeing him. I hadn't seen him since the 80's when they were in Washington for a visit.

Aunt Ronnie is still living in her home and her kids come frequently to visit and help her out. She is determined to stay as independent as possible. In 2006 she said when she couldn't get up and down the stairs to the basement laundry room, she would just sit on the steps and scoot up and down....I and think she started doing that at some point.

Aunt Ronnie....I am not sure what else I can say about this wonderful lady. At age 91 she is spirited and opinionated. While her body is slowly failing her, her mind certainly is not.

Cousins

I got to talk to my dear cousin Sharon tonight....she is a really busy lady so I was glad to catch her. I must say we have some really terrific memories together.

Were we not the beauties? That is me with the really bad hair! Some days it isn't much better now. Sharon always loved to fool with my hair - not on this particular day though.

One of my favorite memories was going into Cleveland to Higbees...7th floor....he'll be waiting for you to turn the key!! Mr. Jingaling at Christmas time. What fun we had. Then, just before we left Ohio for California, Sharon gave me my very first Beatles album. Meet the Beatles. I was in the 7th grade. All those family parties...what a ball we had. All the laughter and fun...food...love.

When Marty was six months old and Jenise was turning three I visited Ohio with my parents. I remember Sharon giving Jenise a baby doll. When she asked Jenise what she was going to name the doll I am sure she was pretty shocked that Jenise was naming her Cleveland and not Sharon.....oh my!

I was just looking for some pictures from 2006 when we met up in Austin Texas - she flew in from Louisana, I from Washington for a wonderful event. But...I didn't have my digital camera yet and don't have the photos downloaded I guess. We hadn't seen each other for 25 years. It is like we are sisters instead of cousins. What a wonderful relationship. Sharon, if you read this I hope that you know how much you mean to me.