You see, my uncle and I always had a close knit relationship. He was like a second father to me, and even though I was young - I loved him more than anything in the world. He taught me many things. Like how to pop popcorn in the microwave. I remember once, he played his guitar for and we wrote a song about his whole collection of instruments and spent the day playing and naming every single one. We then performed our song for my family.
In 2003, he was diagnosed with a very rare cancer that only affected 20 (estimated) people a year. My family was crushed, but we kept our faith strong.
For as long as I can remember, my uncle and I have always had ‘i love you’ wars. You know, those cheesy little lines you say? It kinda goes like this:
‘I love you!’
‘I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MORE’
‘Stop lying you know I love you more’
And continues for a long time. So basically, every time he was with me (which was a lot during his cancer treatments) we always had these funny wars.
A couple of months before he passed away, he pulled me into the living room and had me sit down across from him. He smiled, and I smiled back, confused at to what was happened. I remember this exactly, although I was only about eight at the time. He didn’t say a word, but handed me a velvet box. I opened it up and there inside was a small gold necklace with a picture of the Madonna hanging from it. I smiled and thanked him. Being so young I didn’t really understand the point of the gift, because it wasn’t my birthday nor was it Christmas or any other holiday.
He smiled and told me to turn it around and look what was behind the pendent.
And carved in the back were three little words that still - to this VERY day - mean the world to me…
…love you more
Whenever I get sad or lonely, I just hold my necklace and think of him because with this necklace, I am never alone. He is always with me, guiding me, keeping me strong and loving me.
I love and miss you with every fiber of my being. Rest in Peace Zio Joe <3
by -adhd