Uncle T

Uncle T . When I first met him I wasn't so impressed. Mostly because he wanted to marry my sister. No one was good enough for her, at least that is what I thought. He was a short cocky man with silver wavy hair, not a hair out of place. His clothes were impeccable, sporting pointed toe cowboy boots and crisp freshly ironed jeans. He walked with his head held high and a sense of confidence to match a king. I think some referred to him as the silver fox. A fox alright I thought, a snake in the grass. I didn't like him one bit. As fate had it, I had no choice but to be in his presence. I had to see my sister who I loved deeply so I was around him even if not by choice. Each day he would give me a smile and greet me with kindness. But I would not accept that from him so I ignored him as much as possible. Then wouldn't you know a baby was coming. A bright eyed little boy with silver blond hair, Dallas. T loved him, held him, was the best dad in the world. Day by day little by little he began to win my heart. I found myself even enjoying to be around him. Laughing at his jokes, hanging on his every word. I started nursing school which he financed. Each day I would go by and drink coffee. Sometimes my sister would still be asleep. I would say to him wake her up. He would laugh and say I'm not gonna wake her up you do it. Then we would set drinking coffee sharing thoughts about life and foolishness. Before long he became my best friend. They had two other children Jarrad and Austin. He was crazy about both of them. He always wanted all of them to be their best. When they had a hair out of place as they would dart past him he would grab them and hold their face, then came the comb. All of them learned to walk wide circles around him to escape The Comb. Uncle T started feeling bad, short of breath all the time. He was diagnosed with lung disease. He went into the hospital for a few days that ended up to be weeks. The doctors said he wouldn't make it. He received a trach and continuous oxygen supplement. Finally he came home. Home so we could love him and take care of him. Home to die. He had some good days when he would go shopping with my sister and I to the mall, but he had a lot of bad days too. It was a cool crisp November day that came his time to go. I had got out of school and went by to see him. I hugged him and kissed him and told him how much I loved him then I went home. Shortly after I left his condition worsened. My sister knew it was time so she called their children to his side and while holding him, telling him of their love, he slipped away. What still remains are the wonderful memories he gave us. I can still see that beautiful hair. I can still hear him calling me mop head. I can still feel his love around me. I still miss him. He touched our hearts and made us laugh.