Both RQS and I have been packing for trips. As reported here, I have two bags going with me to Hawaii. RQS has two small bags going with her as she travels South to see her cousin. I'm not going to say much about her trip here, save that her preparation is getting in the way of our time together. 😞
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It is normal for two people to spend time apart from each other. After this weekend, we will be apart for the better part of 3 weeks - and I will miss her. But there will likely be another period coming up where the 2 of us will be apart for just as long - assuming that I take a Panama Canal cruise as an excuse to see my 90 y/o uncle in California.
My uncle and I are not close. Yet, he is my uncle, and he once gave me a gift more valuable than money - security in a stressful time. Almost 27 years ago now, my wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I was busy with several projects at work, and one of them was visible to the CEO of the bank I then worked for. Bush #41 had just signed a bill that protected people who needed family leave to take care of sick relatives, but didn't provide financial help for those people doing so. Without knowing that my uncle's checkbook was open to my needs, I might not have been able to play political hardball and threaten to leave in the middle of a politically sensitive project. As a result of my uncle's actions, I was able to force my management to give me the resources I needed to get the project done and be able to take care of my wife's needs as well.
In a way, I want my uncle to know that I'll be there for him if needed. He is going through a stressful time, and he has no family nearby to count on. (Yes, he has friends that are as close as family, but that's another story.) So I want to check in on him in 2023, as my brother did in 2022. Hopefully, he will appreciate the visit....
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