To Danny
Last night I found out my cousin passed away. It is a shock and I think we are all still reeling from the news. When I awoke this morning, all my memories of him came flooding back and it is an emotional time.
Danny grew up with his brother David and his mom and dad in the town my dad is from; Sombra. Sombra is a tiny town in Southern Ontario and a place that will always and forever be a part of my life. It was the only place that never changed and for a kid like me who had to move every 3-4 years, Sombra was home. It was a place of magical long summer nights, my grandma's apple pie (since she's passed, I can't eat apple pie), waking up to the smell of toast which she would slather with butter and sitting on my Papa's lap as he would jokingly yell at me "Kid, you're blocking the game!". It was what a childhood should be and the warmth and love that filled that house stays with me to this day. It was a place where I could walk along down the parkway to the Pic N' Pay and buy a popsicle. Or sit and look out my grandparents' large window and watch huge tankers pass by on the river.
My Aunt and Uncle lived down the road and lived in an enormous house right on the water. We would visit and I would run around the yard in complete and utter happiness. My cousin Danny used to take me to the gravel pits and I would ride on the back of his 4 wheel bike... of course until my mom found out. Another time he took me on his boat and we pulled up to a docked tanker and Danny said "Go on, reach for it!" and I did. That memory was amazing and Danny was the kind of cousin that made me just a little bit country and I thank him for that.
Danny also played an integral part in my relationship with the Husband, funny enough. The Husband and I had been together just over a year and we decided to go on a "road trip" with two other friends. They were visiting relatives in another town and it was close to Sombra, so I thought, perfect! Let's go! We arrived late at night and were dropped off. Danny and his wife and son had moved into our grandparents' house and the nostalgia was thick in the air. They had made renovations but the large living room window remained.
We went to bed and the next morning woke up to the sound of the radio and for just one second, I thought my grandmother was back. My cousin Danny greeted us (since he had been out when we had arrived the night before) and grabbed the Husband and brought him to the window to look at a truck in the driveway. He exclaimed loudly "See that truck! That's not my truck! I have no idea who that belongs to" and then he laughed. The Husband suddenly relaxed and laughed loudly too. And I knew that the rest of weekend was going to be a blast.
The Husband and I spent the day walking around Sombra and he watched another side of me emerge. I wasn't uptight and I wasn't bitching about my shoes hurting me. We boarded the ferry and crossed over to the States and stopped at the ferry bar and sat there for what seemed like hours. We drank beer and conversed with the locals and once again, the Husband looked at me differently. I wasn't the pretentious hard-to-please princess. I was just, me. We caught the ferry back, met up with my cousin and his wife and the friends who had dropped us off the night before, and once again headed back to the States for dinner (so much cheaper). After an awesome dinner of homestyle cooking and beers, we headed back to Canada and decided to make margaritas in my grandma's kitchen. Of course I ruined a batch by opening the blender wrongly and the mixture spread allover over the kitchen. We grabbed a towel, soaked up the icy bits and threw the towel over the ledge into the basement below where the washer was. Unfortunately the Husband was below, sitting on the steps petting their beautiful dog. The Husband let out a shout when he was suddenly covered head to toe in margaritas. Yes, we laughed and we laughed.
I will always look back on that trip with a smile and I know that that trip took my relationship with the Husband to another level. We got married a year later. I'm sorry Danny that we hadn't been in touch for years. And I am sorry that I will never get the chance to thank you for helping a princess become a little bit of a tomboy and have a little bit of country in her soul. Everytime I have a margarita, see a tanker, or just see a parked truck, I will think of you and remember the sweet and wonderful guy you were. You were and are loved. I'll miss you.
Danny grew up with his brother David and his mom and dad in the town my dad is from; Sombra. Sombra is a tiny town in Southern Ontario and a place that will always and forever be a part of my life. It was the only place that never changed and for a kid like me who had to move every 3-4 years, Sombra was home. It was a place of magical long summer nights, my grandma's apple pie (since she's passed, I can't eat apple pie), waking up to the smell of toast which she would slather with butter and sitting on my Papa's lap as he would jokingly yell at me "Kid, you're blocking the game!". It was what a childhood should be and the warmth and love that filled that house stays with me to this day. It was a place where I could walk along down the parkway to the Pic N' Pay and buy a popsicle. Or sit and look out my grandparents' large window and watch huge tankers pass by on the river.
My Aunt and Uncle lived down the road and lived in an enormous house right on the water. We would visit and I would run around the yard in complete and utter happiness. My cousin Danny used to take me to the gravel pits and I would ride on the back of his 4 wheel bike... of course until my mom found out. Another time he took me on his boat and we pulled up to a docked tanker and Danny said "Go on, reach for it!" and I did. That memory was amazing and Danny was the kind of cousin that made me just a little bit country and I thank him for that.
Danny also played an integral part in my relationship with the Husband, funny enough. The Husband and I had been together just over a year and we decided to go on a "road trip" with two other friends. They were visiting relatives in another town and it was close to Sombra, so I thought, perfect! Let's go! We arrived late at night and were dropped off. Danny and his wife and son had moved into our grandparents' house and the nostalgia was thick in the air. They had made renovations but the large living room window remained.
We went to bed and the next morning woke up to the sound of the radio and for just one second, I thought my grandmother was back. My cousin Danny greeted us (since he had been out when we had arrived the night before) and grabbed the Husband and brought him to the window to look at a truck in the driveway. He exclaimed loudly "See that truck! That's not my truck! I have no idea who that belongs to" and then he laughed. The Husband suddenly relaxed and laughed loudly too. And I knew that the rest of weekend was going to be a blast.
The Husband and I spent the day walking around Sombra and he watched another side of me emerge. I wasn't uptight and I wasn't bitching about my shoes hurting me. We boarded the ferry and crossed over to the States and stopped at the ferry bar and sat there for what seemed like hours. We drank beer and conversed with the locals and once again, the Husband looked at me differently. I wasn't the pretentious hard-to-please princess. I was just, me. We caught the ferry back, met up with my cousin and his wife and the friends who had dropped us off the night before, and once again headed back to the States for dinner (so much cheaper). After an awesome dinner of homestyle cooking and beers, we headed back to Canada and decided to make margaritas in my grandma's kitchen. Of course I ruined a batch by opening the blender wrongly and the mixture spread allover over the kitchen. We grabbed a towel, soaked up the icy bits and threw the towel over the ledge into the basement below where the washer was. Unfortunately the Husband was below, sitting on the steps petting their beautiful dog. The Husband let out a shout when he was suddenly covered head to toe in margaritas. Yes, we laughed and we laughed.
I will always look back on that trip with a smile and I know that that trip took my relationship with the Husband to another level. We got married a year later. I'm sorry Danny that we hadn't been in touch for years. And I am sorry that I will never get the chance to thank you for helping a princess become a little bit of a tomboy and have a little bit of country in her soul. Everytime I have a margarita, see a tanker, or just see a parked truck, I will think of you and remember the sweet and wonderful guy you were. You were and are loved. I'll miss you.
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