My Uncle, Gary Reece Rainer, passed away today. He was sixty-one years old. I have walked around in a daze most of the day. The way that you do when a loved one is taken away from you.
You have all of these random thoughts...
*a NASCAR commercial comes on during the OU game and I think of him (he scheduled visits around NASCAR races)
*Hurricane Ike coverage comes on and I think of him (2 of my 3 trips to the ocean were with him)
*a commercial for the Rodeo comes on and I think of him (I missed the trip to the rodeo with him because I had the chicken pox, and have never been to one)
My husband tells amusing stories to our youngest daughters today about sending them to the Algerian Alps to have dwarves teach them to snow ski with Himalayan Monkeys, but I know it was to try and make me laugh (thank you honey, I love you).
I loved my Uncle Gary. He was funny, honest, put his family first, stubborn, and a smart-ass. Pretty much everything that I have become as an adult (okay, I've always been a smart-ass, and I think I'm funny, but often no one else does).
I often wished that he had been my father, or that my father was more like him. My father was the oldest of 7. Uncle Gary was the second, and quite the rebel. He joined the Navy right after high school. He left the Navy as a Sr. Chief, which is what my husband, also a Navy man, always referred to my Uncle as..."Sr. Chief".
I wished I had spent more time with him, also a regret that I'm sure most people have when a loved one dies. My heart goes out to my cousins, Lori and Danny, and my Aunt Kim. As much as I hurt, I know their pain must be almost unbearable.
You have all of these random thoughts...
*a NASCAR commercial comes on during the OU game and I think of him (he scheduled visits around NASCAR races)
*Hurricane Ike coverage comes on and I think of him (2 of my 3 trips to the ocean were with him)
*a commercial for the Rodeo comes on and I think of him (I missed the trip to the rodeo with him because I had the chicken pox, and have never been to one)
My husband tells amusing stories to our youngest daughters today about sending them to the Algerian Alps to have dwarves teach them to snow ski with Himalayan Monkeys, but I know it was to try and make me laugh (thank you honey, I love you).
I loved my Uncle Gary. He was funny, honest, put his family first, stubborn, and a smart-ass. Pretty much everything that I have become as an adult (okay, I've always been a smart-ass, and I think I'm funny, but often no one else does).
I often wished that he had been my father, or that my father was more like him. My father was the oldest of 7. Uncle Gary was the second, and quite the rebel. He joined the Navy right after high school. He left the Navy as a Sr. Chief, which is what my husband, also a Navy man, always referred to my Uncle as..."Sr. Chief".
I wished I had spent more time with him, also a regret that I'm sure most people have when a loved one dies. My heart goes out to my cousins, Lori and Danny, and my Aunt Kim. As much as I hurt, I know their pain must be almost unbearable.
Rest in peace, Sr. Chief, I'll miss you.
