“I Know, Let’s Play Dishes”

I was chastised, at a recent family gathering, for never writing about my nieces and nephews in my blog. This came from my oldest niece, Lori. She’s responsible for the quote in the title. She is only six years younger than I am. We spent a lot of time together and would always end up doing girly things, like playing dishes. But, we did have a lot of fun. I was in touch with my feminine side even back then.

I have seven biological nieces. By that, I mean that they are the daughters of my siblings. I don’t mean to slight my nephews’ wives. They are my nieces as well. Noah Webster told me this. See, I research before I write!

My first niece was born when I was six and by the time I graduated from high school all seven had been born. Because I was a young uncle, we were all pretty close. Today, almost half of them are in their sixties like me. The others aren’t far behind.

I wanted to try to honor each niece with a special memory of me with them. That was difficult, and I have some, but they aren’t necessarily the kind of memories that would show up in a Hallmark card. For Lori, it has to be playing dishes or walking with her mom to a little corner store in Lehighton when I spent a week there each summer. Thinking about Lori’s sister, Jill, brought up a more recent memory. She was the one who noticed that my daughter Emma’s name spelled backward can be pronounced like my deceased daughter Amy’s name. Kim and I share a birthday and yes, May babies are the best! I can remember Kelly and me, when she was about four, doing a little routine to The Who’s “I Can See For Miles”. I’m sure she has no recollection of that! A memory of Kerri is also more recent, maybe 25 years ago. I can recall us singing karaoke to The Turtles “Happy Together” at a holiday gathering.

I saved Debbie and Karen for last because, for a short time, they were little sisters as well. When my mom died in 1968, my dad and I moved into their home. I can remember Deb and I fighting over A-treat Orange Soda. I can remember Karen eating a glass Christmas tree ornament! I can remember all of us sliding cookies down the dining room table trying to get as close to the end without them falling off. Who needed video games for entertainment?! They also teamed up to eavesdrop on me and my girlfriend by listening through the heat register. I found out, recently, that they also sneaked into my room and read my cleverly folded love notes! Grrrrr!

I love all of my nieces. I am immensely proud of them. They are all beautiful (George genes) and smart and independent women. My only wish is that we were as close today as we were when we were all growing up. But that is life. We all move into our worlds at different speeds and in different directions.

Next post, my five biological nephews!