Two Weeks in Wisconsin

Today I got to see an uncle who I haven't see in many years. He is my father's older brother and just one of the nicest people you will ever find. He will do anything for anybody, and I remember as a kid he and his wife always had somebody staying with them because that person had no place to go. He adopted a daughter not because he wanted another child but because her family didn't want her. He has often been taken advantage of but that has never stopped him from reaching out to the next needy soul.

Well, when I found out he was in town and I was going to get to see him, it made me think back to 2 weeks when I was ten and I went to stay with him and my aunt. I'm not sure why, but those 2 weeks stick out as one of my fondest childhood memories. I'm sure my counselor would have fun with this one but I think it is just because I learned some pretty interesting things during those two weeks.

I learned how to ride a motorcycle during that time. I often have thoughts of getting a motorcycle when I think back to how fun it was riding that little Honda XR75.

I learned the wonder of peanut butter toast. I had never had peanut butter on toast before those two weeks and in the words of my son, "it changed my life." I have passed this little delicacy on to my kids and they love it as much as I do.

I learned that in the north a "Soda" is actually what I called "Pop" or "Coke" and didn't have ice cream in it. I sure was disappointed.

I learned I liked squash. Not sure why that sticks out but they had a garden and they seemed to eat a lot of squash.

And finally, I learned I liked Mountain Dew. Another strange first for me and something not many people know about me today. But since those two weeks, Mountain Dew has been one of my favorite drinks and today if my beloved Diet Coke isn't available and they have Mountain Dew, I'm going for the Mountain Dew.

I really enjoyed seeing my Uncle today.