
I miss:
- Ordering two large grinders, one ham and provolone, one steak and cheese, and trading halves with each other
- Homecomings. We had many deployments, but one less homecoming.
- Listening to you sing in the shower, and the way you always needed lots and lots of bubbles on your loofa or you wouldn’t be considered clean
- Planning trips and holidays and futures
- You snoring so loudly I would rock you back and forth until you said, “What?” and I said, “You’re snoring,” and you said, “No, I’m not.”
- Making you food, especially a sandwich, because you always loved it except the times I left the cheese wrapper on it to trick you
- Celebrating your birthday
- Being mad at you about things like goofing around with the boys when I was trying to be serious, or that time I saw a picture of you with a giant wad of dip stuffed into your cheek
- Talking to someone who loved the kids as much as I do
- Making a fingerprint in the soft white Wonder Bread of your sandwich every time
- Waking from a bad dream and you’re still alive, ready to hear me talk about it
- Asking you why you’re still smoking just so you can say you’re not
- Wrapping presents
- Sunday mornings with giant, heavy cups of sweet coffee, pancakes, bacon, and a wicked huge newspaper that we paid $1.25 for
- The boys remembering everything about you, or even just you
- Your big feet
- Your perfect skin and how you would always put your arm up to mine like you were better because you tanned and I burned
- Talking about you in present tense
- Dressing fancy for the USMC ball and even conceiving a child after one of them
- Your love for Dr. Pepper even though it annoyed me
- Hearing you and Tyler argue over video games too late at night
- You changing their diapers, giving me orange peanut butter crackers and water, and getting them ready to nurse in the middle of the night
- You “staying awake” so we would know when a tornado was about to hit
- Camping with you
- Planning for camping
- Talking about you for an extensive amount of time without having to violently shake my head to stop myself from crying
- Seeing you in uniform, any kind
- Watching how happy fighting fire made you
- Trying to pick a fight so you would actually argue with me
- Seeing how natural you were holding a newborn
- How you never called Baylee by his birth name, but only by Baby Doo
- Your love for animals and how you never complained, even when you had to clean up Annie’s mess from being in heat.
- You almost missing Max’s birth because you just had to get a soda
- People not feeling sorry for me
- How you loved your sister
- USMC 96’s when we had nothing planned and the weather was yuck
- Feeling safe, like really safe
- The way you looked at me especially when I felt ugly and still had so much baby weight
- Your love for the Christmas village
- Swimming with you, especially when the boys were asleep
- You donating plasma for ninety bucks so Max could have a really great birthday
- You not being a tough guy
- How Baylee wanted you and not me
- Writing paper letters to you and getting some back even though you didn’t love writing
- Your crinkle cut fries you cooked in so much oil
- Never wondering if you were all-in, ever
- Our talks about going to the diner when we got old and being regulars who make friends with other regulars
- Not feeling guilty for having a good day and laughing
- When you sat up in bed, naked, reading What to Expect When You’re Expecting telling me I’m not actually in labor
- How you called the kids weird names like Samowenowens
- You
💕 love you sister ❤️
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Dear Teri,
“Fond memories of the man you love etched in stone forever”…
Love,
Uncle Lee
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