Happy Birthday to me -- Part 2

I had an emotional birthday celebration on Friday. My aunt/Godmother -- my dad's kid sister -- was in town because one of my cousins is performing in the pit for Chicago production of The Lion King. We all got together for dinner to celebrate my birthday.

This was very important to me because this is the first year that I haven't, and won't, hear from my uncle/Godfather -- my mom's kid brother. God knows the man has a lot of faults and has done a lot of people bad over his lifetime, but he's always been good to me. I even recall getting birthday wishes from him when he was a soldier in Vietnam. But he's very ill and, for all intents and purposes, is lost to me. So having my aunt/Godmother reenter my life just as he exits feels very important to me. Perhaps I'm just trying to impose order and purpose where there is none, but I want to believe this timing is significant.

In addition to the gettogether, my aunt gave me a ring that had been my grandmother's and my cousin gave me Grandma's Ryne Sandberg jersey! My grandmother loved her Ryno more than any other Cub ever, and I think of her every time I see his #23 pennant flying over Wrigley Field. My cousin gave her this jersey to wear to their annual Mother's Day date at Wrigley Field, and he said I should have it since I have taken her place as the family's "insane Cub fan." So it was like having my Grandma there with us, too.

It was lovely of my aunt to do this. I haven't seen her or my cousin since my Grandma's funeral back in 1997. There was quite a to-do over Grandma's will, with my older sister trying to get as much for herself and me and my kid sister as possible. It was an ugly matter and I dealt with it by not dealing with it, by withdrawing completely. I didn't want my Grandma's money, I wanted my Grandma. So I am grateful that my aunt and cousin don't bear me any ill will as a result of all that.