The Importance of Family

Pin It now! michael's uncle stevie passed away on tuesday. he was sick for awhile, but it's still such a hard loss. we had seen him on thanksgiving at cousin michele's house and i'm so glad we spent that time with him before he passed. i wish i knew him better, but hearing all the stories from his family has given me greater insight of how loving and loved he was. you could see what an great guy uncle stevie was by the way his grandchildren expressed their emotions for him. i would have expected michael's cousins (uncle stevie's daughters) to be hysterical, but it their young children that cried their hearts out. it also touched my heart when his 5 year old granddaughter alexa pulled me over during the wake and started reading me letters she wrote and how much she missed him.

although we hang out with some cousins from his dad's side, there are relatives on that side of the family that for whatever reason we don't see. i met two aunts and a bunch of cousins for the first time and realized that there were so many people who fell out of michael's life after his dad passed away years ago. it always takes a funeral or some tragedy to bring people back together, but whatever the reason, these past two days showed us that family is one of the most important things. even if it's just sitting around the dinner table remembering all the stories we had together, spending time with family is something we should all find time for.

we'll all miss you uncle stevie...