What a drag it is getting old…

---- The summer before last we went back to Boston to the annual family picnic.  It was a big occasion since my Great-Aunt Grace had just turned 100, and I hadn’t been back in quite a while. I took this picture at the dinner, it’s of the 3 remaining siblings of the 12 that included my grandmother.  On the left is Grace, in the middle is Uncle Dickie and on the right is Alba. 

---- Dickie passed away last year. I got an email last week informing me that Alba had just passed away, and today I found out Grace is gone too.  It saddens my heart that this dynamic, funny and loving group of siblings is gone.  I have people tell me all the time that I’m a funny guy and I’ve often heard “where do you come up with this stuff?”  I don’t know, it just pops into my head, but I have no doubt that these people influenced my sense of humor. 

---- My grandmother, the oldest of the siblings, passed away sometime in the 90’s, and her funeral is a perfect example of how these siblings lived.  We were at a funeral home that had a second service going on in a room next to my grandmother’s.  I’m standing out in the lobby, the other room is silent, nothing other than soft music emanating from the room.  On the other side, where her sisters were, laughter is coming out.  I walk in, listen for a little and realize what is going on.  Her sisters are telling “Nonni’s favorite dirty jokes” to each other.   I can’t remember any of them, but that scene made me proud to be a part of this family.

---- I’ll be honest with ya, I’m feeling a little old right now.  I’m creeping up on the age my mother was when she passed away and I’ve just lost a whole level of my ancestors.  On the other hand, I’m feeling way too young to be this close to being the oldest generation in my family.  I know it’s a few years away, my dad is in great health and has the genes to last another 25 years.

---- Well, that was headed in a really depressing direction, it’s probably time to cut it off.  And I’ll get up at 6 tomorrow morning to head off and face classrooms full of 13 to 15 year olds and realize I can’t be too old, after all, I can still relate to them.