Trip Back East, Stop #2

So it's not every day that someone in your family turns 100 years old. And when they do, it doesn't really matter where you live, you get to the party. In fact, I'm pretty sure I would have driven to New York if I had to. There was no way in the world that I was going to miss Uncle Joe's 100th birthday party.

I'm sure I met my Uncle Joe and Aunt Gwen before my senior year of high school, but it wasn't until I decided to go to Geneseo (about 35 minutes from where they lived in Rochester) that I really felt I knew them. When I visited the campus with my parents we visited Uncle Joe and Aunt Gwen at their house, where they let me know that I was always welcome to visit whenever I wanted. Being without regular access to a car my first two years of college, my visits were not too frequent, but I was able to see them at least once a semester. I remember the first time I went for dinner by myself Uncle Joe told me, as we were sitting down for dinner, that their doctor told them a glass of red wine with dinner was good for the heart and invited me to join them in a glass. Who was I to say no? I think it was near the end of my junior year that they moved from their house to the retirement village that also featured a nursing home wing if that level of care became necessary. I visited them there several times as well. I always remember leaving my visits with them totally awed and inspired by them. By that time they had been married over 60 years! And they had a great way of making you feel so good about yourself. Aunt Gwen lost her battle with cancer in 2002, and before that when her health declined to the point that she had to be moved over to the nursing home Uncle Joe went to visit her every single day. What love and devotion. I remain truly blessed to have been even just a brief witness to that kind of love.

The last time I had seen Uncle Joe before the birthday weekend was in 2004, during one of my trips back from Germany while Bill was deployed. My parents and I stopped in for a visit on our way to Uncle Mike's in Ohio. I remember being totally amazed that at 95 years old, he could remember details of our family's history that were just fantastic. A summer or two ago my sister went and visited with him, making audio recordings of many of those family stories. Priceless.

Arriving in Rochester on Friday afternoon we went for a brief visit to the nursing home, where Uncle Joe was having his birthday celebration thrown by the facility's staff. We introduced Drew to Uncle Joe (who he understood was turning a very big number!) and chatted for a few minutes, Drew got a birthday cupcake, and then we headed over to the hotel to meet up with all the rest of the family that had arrived or was on their way.


For all of us who came into town on Friday, my dad's cousin Mark (Joe's younger son) and his wife Leslie hosted a happy hour for us that evening. I saw several extended family members I hadn't seen since high school. All but two of my first cousins on my dad's side were able to make it for the weekend and we had a great time catching up--which, in my family, generally means 10-15 minutes of niceties and then 2-3 hours of mocking each other and bringing up embarassing moments from the past. Gotta love your family. Anyway, here's some pictures from Friday night.



Cousin Christopher, Cousin Sarah with her daughter Maddie, and Sarah's husband Mike.




My mom and Maddie




Hey, Aunt Katie's here!



My cousin Sarah's older daughter Ava & Drew.

After we arrived in the party room Friday night it didn't take long for these two to start running ALL over the place. Thank God for my new favorite cousin--the other Katie Calnon. At 16 years old she was a complete godsend for the entire weekend! She walked up to the kids mid-run that night and said "Hey, do you guys want to play a game with us?" From that moment until bedtime, Ava and Drew just sat at the kids table with the older cousins, playing cards and other games, drawing, and generally hanging on every word of the older kids. If I hadn't had to take Drew to the bathroom every now and then I might have forgotten he was there! More cuteness from these little ones later.


Cousin Tim, my brother, Christopher, my dad, Uncle Eddie & Uncle Mike

In the back: me, Katie, Sarah. In the front: cousin Meagan, Aunt Mary, Aunt Mary, and my mom

Katie & Sarah

John, Tim, & Christopher...I wish I could remember what this expression was about!

John showing his nephew some love.

Saturday was the official Birthday Party Day. Take special note of how expressive Uncle Joe's face is in most of the pictures. His whole face just lights up in a way that just makes you smile.

Drew and me saying hello to Uncle Joe before the party officially started. Drew was showing him a picture of Bill and us since he couldn't come with.

Uncle Joe being reintroduced to his great nephew Nick. I hadn't seen my cousin Nick since he was 9 and I was 12 but it was really great to reconnect with him. I love the expression on Joe's face here.

Who are the cutest cousins on the planet?

Ava sharing some words of wisdom with Uncle Joe while Sarah & Maddie watch

I love the expressions on Maddie's face and Uncle Joe's face

Drew and me with Uncle Joe at the beginning of the party

Katie & Uncle Joe

You don't see cakes like this very often...

Sarah & Uncle Eddie

Aunt Mary shares a moment with Uncle Joe

Uncle Mike, Aunt Mary, Christopher, Meagan & Uncle Joe

Katie Calnon x 2 (my sister and our second cousin)

John Calnon x 2 (my brother and my dad's 1st cousin)

Uncle Joe with his two sons Mark & David

The man of the hour--I just love his smile.

Sarah & Ava

My dad, Uncle Eddie, Aunt Mary, & Uncle Mike

Drew & Ava completely engrossed in a game

Mark, Uncle Joe, Leslie, Katie & Tyler

My dad and his siblings with Uncle Joe

Our fam with Uncle Joe

My cousins with kids minus Seth & Carly

COUSINS!!!

Drew & Uncle Eddie share a goofy goodbye

Nick and John watch the old pictures on the slideshow with Uncle Joe

Drew and Ava with their great great uncle

The young cousin crew...aka, my lifesavers

The youngest and the oldest: Maddie (7 months) and Uncle Joe (obviously 100)

Uncle Johnny & Drew on Saturday evening at the afterparty

Kids playing cards Saturday night--have I mentioned how much I appreciated them?

As we loaded up the cars Sunday morning Drew was apparently not anxious to leave his cousin Ava, because instead of getting in Grandma & Grandpa's rental car, he climbed right into Sarah & Mike's van next to Ava and made himself at home. He was quite disappointed that Ava and all the other cousins were not coming on the plane back to Arizona with us.

As I'm sure you can tell from all the pictures, the weekend was really fantastic and I'm so grateful I was able to be there with all of my family to celebrate Uncle Joe's milestone.