It seems to me that the subject of this editorial has to be Mom's family. I cannot begin to describe how moved I was to spend time with them. Even though most of us have met various Ebenal relatives from time to time over the years, for some of us it was the first time that we sat down and visited with them as adults. This was certainly the case for me. Except for Harry & Stan at Mom's funeral, I haven't seen any of them since I was a teenager. It was so interesting to sit there and talk with them and watch them interact with others and see some of the little quirks that we have in our generation. You only have to see Uncle Ed for a few minutes to figure out which gene pool Jim came from.
We've all been so familiar with our Uhl relatives that it's been easy to forget that there is another "half" to us. I have this feeling of completeness that I have never had before. It was a great feeling to be welcomed with open arms by these relatives that we hardly know. They all made a great effort to let us know how much
For me it was a very emotional time - I would listen to Janette talking and hear Mom's voice; I would watch Bea and see Mom's face, her hands and her mannerisms. I told Bea that talking with her was happy and sad for me all at the same time - happy because I was seeing Mom again in a way, and sad to realize that it's not really Mom at all.
As for Grandma - what a woman! She was at that party until nearly 11:00 p.m. that night and was at 7:00 a.m. Mass the next day. Then she went to 10:00 a.m. Mass and Uncle Harry had to drag her out of there and bring her back to the brunch.
Note: The Ebenal idea of brunch is coffee, cigarettes, and leftover birthday cake. Consider yourself warned! Grandma is obviously very much in command of all of her faculties and is as fun loving and young at heart as ever. We're very lucky to have her.
There is an appendix on the back of the newsletter. It is the graduation speech that Allan gave at Kelsey's grad. I think it's something that all parents can identify with.
Birthdays
Oct. 4/79 Brandy
14 Grandma
Ebenal - 100 years
young!
17/? Andi
Nov. 5 Evelyn
Dec. 2/80 Danielle
13 Gerry
26 Laurie Mohr
31 Dad
Jan. 1 Maryann
15 Carol
Anniversaries
Nov. 4/67 Jim & Maryann
Nov. 29/91 Dad & Evelyn
Dec. 4/76 Sharon & Wally
Dec. 31/94 Joy & Reg
Gone but not Forgotten
Nov. 2/90 Herman
January 6/95 Werner
January 13/91 Mom
Terry & JudyBeginning early August Terry was back at work full time, and I mean full-time, 7 days per week, 10 hour days for several weeks at a stretch. He had a couple of weeks off
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