This day may mark the most shocking and difficult 24 hours of my life. Mom's brother Rex passed away very unexpectedly and suddenly yesterday. I haven't even fully processed what that means at this point. I have mentally prepared myself for things like grandparents passing, and even started the journey to letting Mom go, but this is not the way things were supposed to happen. Mom was not supposed to outlive her younger brother. They should have both grown old and shared stories of their childhood memories and given each other hard times in their golden years. The blessing here is that neither has to realize the other's passing. Mom will never know what happened, and Rex will not have to deal with the inevitable end to Mom's awful ordeal. Thank God he didn't suffer the way that she has, and I know that he will never suffer another second where he is now...
Even through my tears, I am reminded of more light-hearted times with Rex. Now, Rex and Mom shared a rocky relationship at time, but when it came down to it, there is nothing they wouldn't have done for each other. And there were certain things they particularly enjoyed when they were together. Mom thought Rex was hilarious (nobody could argue with that), and she especially loved the joke about cripple and the hairlip brothers. I have never seen my mom laugh so hard in her life, and Rex could hardly get to the end before they were both rolling with laughter. Of course, Rex teased Mom relentlessly for things like being a "blonde" and how loudly she laughed, especially around Sherri! I remember countless nights of begging to play euchre, and knowing that really the game was between my mom and Rex. I know that there a lot of things Rex and Mom didn't agree on, but I honestly can't remember any times when they didn't appreciate each other's company completely.
Another thing that I have been thinking a lot about and something Rex and Mom shared was a love of cats. Here was this man who may have appeared scary to some people who didn't know him who inherited his mother's love for felines! I remember him telling stories of my mom's evil cat Jay that didn't like anyone, and Rex was no exception. However, Jay did seem to love him on two occasions: when he was in the shower and when he was ready for work. Rex once told me that Jay loved to sit on the side of the tub while he was taking a shower. Well, Jay happened to get unlucky once, and he fell in! Rex said Jay scratched him up one leg and down the other trying to get out of there fast enough! Sounds like my Bella cat who likes to lick the shower curtain during showers. Rex also said Jay loved to rub up against his ankles when he had just put on his dress pants for work. Isn't that just like a cat? But the one cat closest to Rex's heart was the invincible Charlie. That cat used nine lives and then some, and he always love Rex the most. That was Rex's baby, and the cat even slept next to him. I really regret the fact that Rex never met my Siamese babies, because I know that he would have loved them. I think he would have appreciated the similarities between my blue point, Blue Lou, and Jay, but also the differences. Cats were one thing I know Rex loved talking to me about because it was a common love of his, mine and Mom's.
Now as much as they actually did have in common (not like you could have ever told either one of them that), there were distinct differences. Unlike Mom, Rex was one of those people that seemed extraordinarily intimidating until you got to know him (and even then sometimes, which Mom loved to beat him up over!) But underneath that exterior was a heart that was ten times normal size. It seems that the "Mutant Lawrence Gene" was good for not only making us all a bit uh, difficult to get along with, but also made our family members unique in some beautiful ways. Rex, Mom, and even Mamaw and Papaw never knew any strangers, and they would have given anybody the shirt off their own back if that if someone needed it more than they did. They touched so many people's lives, and nobody will ever forget the generosity and the value that Rex added to each person lucky enough to have known him. He was my godfather and no matter how infrequently I saw him because of the travel factor, he always sent me a birthday card and Christmas card every single year. In fact, the very last thing I got was just last week on my birthday which simply said "We don't see you often but we love you always". This is how I will always remember the bear of a man that I am lucky enough to have known as Uncle Rex...
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