This week was hard. My heart and thoughts took often trips up there, in the sky, where everything is green and beautiful and happy. A very dear uncle of mine, nenea Lica, took an unexpected and way to soon trip to Heaven. All those dear to me had their hearts shattered. Because my uncle was an amazing person. He was somebody that I truly regret Catalina will not remember from her own memories, but only from stories. And this is why this post found its way here, in a happy place, where Catalina will learn one day of the good things and people that surrounded her in her childhood, that helped her mommy believe in good.
Nenea Lica is my mom's brother, elder to her by 2 or 3 years. Out of of my uncles and aunts he seemed to me he was the one who enjoyed life the most, who looked for happiness everywhere and did everything in his power for those around him to also have smiles on their faces. He married a beautiful woman that he praised and took care of. He took pride in treating her like a lady. It was among the very few times I heard a romanian man taking pride in making coffee for his wife early in the morning, so she can enjoy a slightly longer sleep. He respected her and he respected women. They lived far away, on the other side of Romania, so every time they visited it felt like a holiday. My uncle liked to wear light colored clothes, which was quite different from how men dressed in Moldova, "my" part of Romania. To me, this made him look sophisticated and somehow rich. He spoke with a fancy accent that brought him even more charm. And I believe this is a very good word to describe him. He was a charmer. People around him liked him, loved him and praised him. He inspired trust. And he deserved every little bit of it.
He did not visit often, once or twice a year, so I did not grow up with him. But every holiday there was a phone call, every time there was an emergency nenea Lica was there and took charge. During my childhood, his visits were associated with either very happy or very sad events: somebody getting married or somebody passing away. But one feeling was always there, that he will take care. He helped every person who needed help without being asked. He was there every time we needed him. His presence brought peace and a sort of stability. My grandma took a lot of comfort in his presence. We all did, he was our family's rock.
Our family will not crash without our rock, we'll find a new one, or maybe all of us will be little pebbles to support each other. We still have our rock watching over us from above, that I am sure of. I will also be sure to tell Catalina all the nice stories about her grand uncle who saw her and thought she's beautiful. Who, given the chance, would have taught her that every little girl is a princess and every woman is a gift to the world.
He stays in my mind the way I last saw him, with a big smile on his face.
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