Siblings together again! Mixed emotions...

 

The house on Winifred in Wayne where Al lived from 

Kindergarten until his folks passed away.  

Its vacant and in foreclosure.

 

Ernie and Agnes Leasure with their daughter, Carol (aka Kirk),

who babysat Al & I often in her teens. The Leasures

lived across the street from Al's family and Ernie worked 

and carpooled with my dad to Ford Motor Co. They were

the COMMON LINK that brought our families together.

 

 SIBLINGS: Bill, Rose, Barb and Vicki 

Siblings with spouses, minus Al: Dan & Rose, Barb,

Vicki, Cheryl & Bill 

Its been a roller coaster ride of emotions this week. Driving down the street I used to ride my bike on, seeing the aged homes looking so much the same as then, feeling a bit of excitement to be there, but apprehension at what I might find around the next corner... Seeing the lot where I lived with a new home and the same old address was a totally unexpected experience.

Its is SO HARD to see the economic crisis here. So many homes are on the market, with so few persons to buy them. 

Driving out to the country where my sisters live, memories flooded my mind of the country afternoon rides with dad when we drove through fallen leaves at breakneck speeds on dirt roads, hunting down the elusive hickory trees on the roadside. When we found hickory trees, we jumped out of the car and gathered as many nuts as we could before heading out to locate more trees. (Dad LOVED ice box cookies with hickory nutmeats!)

I spent much of the week trying to copy family photos for the siblings. After several days of computer vs scanner conflict, I finally called my other sister, Rose, to see if she had a functioning scanner. We spent the evening scanning over 250 photos before I headed back to Pinckney for bed. 

Today the brothers and the sisters came together again for the first time since I was here last... about ten years ago. It was a wonderful time of remembering and getting to know each other again. If you still have your siblings close enough, get a hug while you can (I can certify that we hugged on each other all afternoon!)