Where is Uncle Jimmy?
Or, to be exact where is his picture?
Let me explain, Uncle Jimmy died when my Mom was a child. Obviously, I never met him. But, he was a strong presence in our lives. At Grandma Richmond’s house, in her spare room, was a picture of Grandpa and Uncle Jimmy (they were brothers) leaning against a fence. We always heard stories about Uncle Jimmy, he was very special to his family.
When Grandma passed away (read more here), I was given all of her old pictures. Well, almost all of them. You see, Mom got the picture of Uncle Jimmy and Grandpa. Not that I was upset, but I really wanted it, and so did my brother.
We were all at Gram’s house and the night before we left to drive back home, my brother and I kept asking each other if we had Uncle Jimmy packed in one of the cars. Mom did not find us amusing. She laughed and told us, “he better not be!”
Fast forward to a year and half later.
My brother and I took a road trip to see mom. I was shocked that Uncle Jimmy’s photo was not even hanging on a wall. He was nicely standing against a wall in a spare room. Again, my brother and I gave mom crap about taking the picture home and she was aggravated with us. It’s good to see that we can still push her buttons.
Mom had to work early in the morning on the day we were going home. My brother pulled me aside (at 4:30am) and said where are we going to put the picture? I just looked at him like he was nuts. I wasn’t even awake yet. But, I caught on, and we decided to put Uncle Jimmy in her front hall closet, it’s the only one she barely goes in. We are a funny bunch, hehehe.
After 2 pm, while we driving home, my brother made the comment that it was odd we had not heard from Mom yet. He had just finished his statement and his cell phone rang. Guess who? Yep, Mom! She was not happy. She yelled in the phone, “Where is my fricken picture?” Of course, we are laughing so hard we could barely see straight. Mom continues her yelling, telling me that she will come to Chicago to get the picture. Yeah, right! She has been home 3 times since she moved away 6 years ago. Finally, I tell Mom to stop yelling and I tell her where to find her picture.
We got a big kick out of our prank, Mom did not. But, if you have something that multiple people in your family want, make sure you are doing it justice. I will say that I was back at Mom’s last week and Uncle Jimmy was hanging very prominently in her living room. (Guess I cannot hide it on her again).
Mom, if you are reading this, we love you!
