Last night my family lost an amazing man. Uncle Mike was lovingly referred to as Uncle Buck. If you have ever seen the movie, you would know that Uncle Buck was the loving uncle who had the most unconventional way of doing things - that explains my Uncle Mike to a tee!
A distant memory popped into my head last night of a time when Uncle Mike lived with my family in Queens. He would sleep on the couch and was definitely not a morning person. He would wake up with his hair disheveled, one eye open and give a very gruff "Morning". These are the memories I have of my Uncle.
In recent years, we had become close and our text messages would become more frequent. He encouraged my love of my favorite group and tried to talk me into going to other states just to see them as he had with the Grateful Dead.
The most vivid memory we shared was one when I was very little and we were coming home from seeing my Nana in Salem. He thought it would be best to feed me chocolate chip cookies before a 5-hour drive. He quickly learned that this was not the brightest move he could have made - especially with a new car! A belly full of cookies and a small child who gets car sick do not mix well as I soon got sick all over the interior of his new car. After some yelling on his part and a lot of crying on my part, he hugged me and told me that everything was okay and he wasn't mad. It was still a very long ride home.
Uncle Mike found his true love in Erica Raymond. They married August 14, 1988. Their wedding was beautiful, and their reception was a ton of fun! I remember him telling me to teach Aunt Erica how to Irish step dance...it was an interesting few minutes. He loved Aunt Erica with his whole heart and missed her after her death in 2016. It comforts me some to know that they are together again.
The one person who was the light of Uncle Mike's life was his daughter, Jessica. Once she was born his life completely changed. She became his everything and he was always bragging about her - even as late as Christmas this year when we spoke.
My Uncle Mike was one of my favorite people and I will miss him for the rest of my life. I know he wouldn't want me to cry or be sad about his death but rather look back and smile at all we had been through. He is now beside his love, his parents, his older brother and the rest of his family making up for lost time. I hope that I was able to show my Uncle just how much he meant to me.
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One of my favorite Uncle Buck clips that definitely makes me think of Uncle Mike.