Aunts and Uncles

We got to see our kids being aunts and uncles last night. Eric was on the peddle tractor pulling his neices around on their bikes. Eric is just a big kid, reminded me of dad and myself.

I have written about my dad's family, uncle Paul giving me my Amateur Radio Novice exam, Aunt Florence, the matron of dad's family, her sisters Mildred and Claudia lived close by and I saw them a lot as a child. They were a strong, positive, fun-loving influence on me.

LuAnn had even more aunts and uncles than me and she has talked about their influence on her many times. When she graduated from Xavier a few years ago she wrote her Uncle Joe:

"I wanted to write and let you know how much I valued the support and encouragement you gave me over the years regarding completing my college degree. After 31 years (21 since I earned my Associates) I will graduate from Xavier University on May 19. A long time ago you began to chide me about going and you always asked about my progress and encouraged me to persevere. You may never have known this but your encouragement was very important and I always looked forward to the day when I could tell you I had finished. Well, I am 49 years old and my dream is finally coming true!"

Aunt Florence and Mildred had a similar impact on me. They always gave me scientific type gifts like a slide rule or gyroscope or books about science. I loved it and that encouraged my curiousity about science. Uncle Paul got me involved in a whole new world of electronics and communication which I use every day.

All of our aunts and uncles were good people but a few surfaced to the top as our role models and mentors. Now we see the same thing happening to our children. Remember that cycle of life I mentioned just a few weeks back?

Think about your aunts and uncles today and consider how you can help your neices and nephews as a Big Brother or Big Sister to a child. Potentially it has huge impact and great returns!

Ed Winkle