I sat down earlier this evening on the couch after dinner with my husband Todd and my two sons Caleb and Sam sitting beside me. "Turn it to the Braves" I heard Caleb say to Todd. We were all huge Braves fans and it was getting close to playoff time and the wild card spot was still up for grabs.
Sitting there, I looked around at my family watching my sons do the tomahawk chop and thought to myself "how lucky I am to have such a wonderful caring husband and two teenage boys who still like to spend time with me and Todd."
Watching the Braves was a ritual for me ever since I could remember. As a young girl, I would sit around with my uncle, who lived in Atlanta and watch with buckets of popcorn and homemade cotton candy as if we were at the game itself. On occasion, we would attend a game or two when my family would travel down to visit my uncle and his family.
Thinking about my uncle brought back many memories as he passed away from cancer when I was twenty two. I felt the tears in my eyes build up as we hadn't spoke much in recent years before his passing. I wish I had that one more chance to tell him I loved him as I glanced toward the ceiling as if I was looking up at him watching down over me.
I got up and walked over to the kitchen to get a glass of my favorite White Zinfandel and heard the boys yelling at what sounded to be a Bryan McCann homerun. Hearing them get a long and being happy with each other brought even more tears to my eyes as I reached up and wiped them away with my finger.
"Mom, you ok" I heard from behind as Sam stood there looking at me as I stood at the counter looking back towards him.
"Yeah I am...just remembering some fun times with your great uncle. You know how I told you about how we use to watch the Braves together and just tonight I guess I am a little upset remembering it all. That's it" I said explaining myself.
Sam shrugged his shoulders not knowing how to react to his crying mother but he walked up to me giving me a hug from behind and wrapped his arms around my waist before grabbing the Doritos and walking back to the living room. My uncle use to hold me that way, I thought.
Sam was the oldest of my boys and just turned eighteen the weekend before. He reminded me a lot of myself when I was his age. He was very aspiring and was excited to graduate and head on to college and do great things.
Sam is a cutie and took after his dad with his locks of dark curly brown hair and tanned skin. On the other hand there was Caleb, who looked nothing like me or Todd. I always joked about him getting switched at birth, but he too was a good looker at fifteen.
I took a sip of my sweet wet wine and refilled my glass to the brim before walking back to sit beside Sam. Sitting there watching the game and chit chatting with everyone. I leaned back resting my head on the cushion behind me and began to think more of my uncle.
I was nineteen, and in my second year in college when a group of girls and myself from my sorority decided to take a weekend trip down to Georgia and head to 6 flags. I hadn't seen my uncle in about four years at this point and he was happy that I called and we did arrange for a little get together. He was thrilled that I came down and couldn't stop complimenting me on how much I grew up in the years since we saw each other last. I saw my uncle in a different way for the first time. His hair was starting to grey but to me, it was very handsome. I remember after our lunch date, he asked me to come back and see his house and all the worked he had put in to fix it up since my cousins had left for college. I had a few hours left of down time before I needed to meet back up at the hotel and get ready for the park later that afternoon.
My uncle had picked me up earlier in the day since my friend Casey drove us down from Nashville, so I didn't have my car. It was such a relaxing moment as we drove through the streets of Buckhead, which is the suburb of Atlanta my uncle resided at the time. His house was still as gorgeous as I remembered with nicely landscaped bushes and a fresh cut lawn. I could still remember the exact smell that lingered as we approached his house down his drive. He walked me around to the backyard showing me his new pool and hot tub before heading inside to the living room.
My uncle opened a bottle of champagne offering me a glass and me proudly accepted as it was my first drink of alcohol. We sat around for a little while talking about the past, present and future with everything that we use to do. I stood up and walked around more and went and looked at the four bedrooms as my uncle followed behind. I walked into my uncle's room last and he stood behind me which brought the memory of my uncle that I will never forget and dare to speak of to this day.
I felt his arms reach around me as if he wanted to hug me, but instead, he didn't let go and began squeezing me into him as he did when I was young. We smiled together as we both peered out of his bedroom window looking out over his pool. It was a warm day and the sun was reflecting on the pool water. I remember his exact words "I miss you so much baby girl" being uttered under his warm breath. As he spoke to me, it gave me chills from head to toe while I leaned back resting my head onto this bulky chest.
We stood there arm and arm holding each other tightly before his right hand lifted off of my body and drifted downward coming to a halt on my abs. His hand felt rough with calices snagging its way across the striped t-shirt I was wearing that afternoon. We giggled during a conversation that left me distracted from the caressing of his finger tips slowly stroking back and forth across stomach and around my belly. I remember closing my eyes and taking long deep breaths while he breathed his warmth, wet breath on the back of my neck with each word he spoke. I felt in awe standing there with him.