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On the left is my Auntie Helen, and on the right is my Gramma. (The
difference, incidentally, is that my Steinmetz grandmother is "Grammy" and this
one is "Gramma".) Helen and Gramma speak on the phone every day for two
hours and then go over to each other's houses to talk about something else. This
continual blabbering is a trait that Gini and I also have, and I hope we don't lose it
over the years. My Gramma can best be described — though she would hate it —
as "spunky". She painted a room in one day at the age of seventy, and
hasn't slowed down since then. Out of everyone in the family, she's probably the one
I idolize most, although she probably doesn't realize it... her energy and verve in the
face of some of the heartache and trouble she's been through really gives me hope for
humanity. I love her so much. |
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My Uncle Tommy (there on the left) is my best friend and always will
be. Period. He shepherded me through my worst days as a hypersensitive
adolescent and set an example for me by respecting my feelings all the way through, even
when I was being a complete @sshole. I can — and do — tell him pretty much
everything that happens to me, and my only regret about not having my own children is that
I will not get to name my firstborn son after him. Give you an idea of how I feel? My
highest acclaim I can give to him is this: I hope that I can be half to my stepkids
what he was to me. Got me? |
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This is my Mom and my stepdad Bruce. When they first got married, I
realized that I would never get along with Bruce, and for the longest time I didn't.
But as the years went by, I realized something; despite the fact that he was my
opposite in almost every way, he made my mother happy... and that, in turn, told me there
was something special about him. And there is. He's cynical and cutting
sometimes, but he went really out of the way to get the wedding perfect... and for that, I
thank you, Bruce. A lot. You're one of the good ones. My mother has been the
Harbinger Of Doom for all of my previous relationships. She knows me well enough
that whenever I brought a girlfriend into the house, I could judge how long they'd last
from her reaction. If she had reservations, it was gonna be a two month fling.
If she was enthusiastic but had a few complaints, it might be a year. If she really
liked my girlfriend except for one or two things, it might take years.
Gini she loved all the way through because — as she said before she met her —
"I don't know her that well, but I see what she brings out in you... and that is
something wonderful I've never seen before."
Hey Mom. You bring out something wonderful in me, too. I love you. |
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They didn't really fit anywhere else, but since we don't have a
"Bride's Family" page — since, sadly, none of them showed up for various
reasons and medical problems — the part of Gin's family was played by her friend
Barbara on the right. Barbara is one of her old friends from Fairbanks, and they met
at a quilting circle which just grew into a little community. I am told that Barbara
is ridiculously outspoken to the point where, during an argument with Gini once, her
friends were convinced that Gin and her were about to start throwing punches. Nope;
she just argues as passionately as Gin and I do. And from what I saw, she really
does have — despite the fact that it's a total cliche to say so — a zest for
life, because she danced the entire night and yakked with my whole family. Does this
look like a fifty-year old woman to you? I think not! |
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