Unexpected Visitors

Will's mom, Martha, passed away when he was 8 years old.  Her family lived in West Virginia and Will lived in Oklahoma.  It made keeping in contact with Martha's family difficult.  Will said the last time he saw his aunts was when he was 16 years old.  We've talked about visiting them when the girls were old enough to remember it.  Two of his aunts planned a visit last fall, but things came up and they didn't make it.

Last month we got a call on a Tuesday saying that Will's Aunt Gingy and Uncle Konk were coming for a visit.  They were stopping in Tulsa first to visit Will's brother, Patrick, and would be at our house on Monday.  We were very excited, but I admit I was a bit nervous.  People that I had never met before were staying at my house!  I wanted to be a good hostess and keep them entertained.  

I had nothing to worry about.  They were totally laid back.  Their only agenda was to spend time with us.  To get to know us.  To catch up on the last 20 years. 

It was a great couple days.  They parked their camper in the driveway and we just hung out.  The only place we went was the neighborhood Dairy Queen to get some ice cream.  Gingy played dolls with the girls and read them books.  She even helped them clean their room a few times.  She, of course, made everything fun.  After she left and I made them clean their room by themselves, Taylor said, "I wish Gingy were here." 

I loved hearing remarks like, "They have Martha's eyes", and "Martha had hair like that."  I enjoyed asking questions about Martha and hearing stories from when they were kids.  I felt like even though I never got to meet Will's mom, I got a good glimpse of who she was by spending time with her sister.

Konk (Frank) reminded me so much of my dad.  When he was tired of chatting and needed a break he just went out to his camper to take a nap or watch TV.  He talked about NASCAR and drank milk with his bologna sandwich.   These similarities made it very easy to get to know this stranger.

Actually, it never really felt like I was with strangers.  They were family from the very first hug to the last goodbye tears that were shed.  The girls still talk about them all the time and we can't wait for our next visit.

I now look forward to meeting Martha's last surviving sister, Genie.  Hopefully sooner than later.