My Uncle Steve

REMEMBERING UNCLE STEVE

photo of my auntie lynnes

Two years ago today came the devastating news that my Uncle Steve (my dads younger brother) had died suddenly. There really arent enough words to put together how our family felt.

My uncle steve was the epitome of "laid back". He was a no fuss, (although definitely fussy about his wine and food being good) easy going, laid back sweater loving guy. He loved my auntie lynne, loved his mum and dad and had a good relationship with both my dad, his older brother, and his youngest brother Kevin (who passed in 2001)

I have pictures right from birth with my uncle steve. Ones of me as a baby, sitting on the floor reading with him, standing in a field of cows, as a teenager constantly bugging him.

One of the things we all remember and joke about with steve, is that he always wore a woolly jumper (canada  translation; sweater). It was the one thing i knew i wanted when i was back in england for the funeral two years ago.

Losing uncle stephen, left me with a feeling of needing to do something with that loss, it really was the hardest loss i had ever known up till that point, and it prompted me and my newly wed to husband to rethink our lives. Am opportunity only a month later arose for us to go to LifeFORCE, a mission based organisation. We would spend four months in Calgary training youth up ready to go and live in the philippines for four months.

It was an experience that changed our lives, yet steve was always in the midst of it as the biggest reason that drove us to make such a quick life changing decision. I decided to take my woolly jumper with me.

The last week before we left the philippines i knew was the time to share the story of losing my uncle, and it happened at a squatter village called Bagong Silang.  I told the story with my translator, as tears rolled down my face. I told of the heart ache but how to move forward was to find hope and joy again in the midst of it. I knew there was a woman in the seats that had just lost her newborn baby, and ironically enough her name was JOY.

I looked right in her face and tears streamed from both out eyes, and i told her, joy will come again. It doesnt come in the forgetting that person, or even putting that person aside, but healing and joy and hope will come again, thats what my woolly jumper is there to rememeber.

this picture was one of my favourites of the whole trip:

all the women from the squatter, im the white woman in the middle and joy is directly to my left.

What i saw that day was proof that my uncles life still meant something. This woolly jumper changed someones life. This story helped someone else find joy.

I could write for pages about my uncle. But instead i just wanted to share a few pictures to honour him today as i remember him not just for the sadness of him not being in my life anymore physically, but to rememebr how awesome he was. He really was an amazing uncle, who loved us kids like we were his own. so many memories to hold onto, and so many stories to tell our children in the future! They will always know that there great uncle steve was definitely GREAT!

my auntie lynne and uncle steve when they visiting canada which included being at our wedding

my christening as a baby - my uncle stephen was my godfather

a picture from the past in the my uncles beloved garden with my auntie lynne

THANK FOR READING TODAY AND SHARING WITH ME SOMEONE MOST OF YOU PROBABLY DONT KNOW