Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Seth visit

In October, my Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Seth took a train from Minnesota through Canada to come visit us.  I lived with them my Senior year of high school and it was WONDERFUL to spend time together again.

Seth gave us a tour of the planes at the Boeing Museum of Flight.  As a WWII pilot, he flew several models of the displayed planes.  He reminisced about landing one of the planes in such a powerful headwind, that the plane was actually travelling backwards!

The stoic look on Seth's face here speaks volumes.  He is haunted by his participation in bombing missions, twice his plane was shot down, and he survived on a South Pacific island for 19 days completely alone.  He was shot at again while driving a vehicle and sustained a crash that shattered his pelvis in 17 places, among other things.  These experiences have all left their mark on him.

 

I always thought of Seth as a gruff, old man, whose genius intellect was quite intimidating, and who for as long as I can remember, has talked about his impending death.  This trip I definitely saw his softer side.  He still says any day now he's going to die and this time his frailty suggests it could be true.  He got teary-eyed saying good-bye to me, which of course got me misty-eyed, as I thought of his gesture of taking me into his home many years ago.  Seth is now 89 and Lorraine is 25 years his junior.  They have raised his, hers, and ours children.  Their twin boys, Martin and Bevan, have finished college and Bevan moved out of the house in the Fall of 2010.  They are finally empty nesters!  Seth shared with Rich that for all but 1 year when Dara studied abroad in Germany, he's had children in his home for 65 years and "he's loved every minute of it."  Truly a softer side!  And the thought again makes me want to cry.

I enjoy taking my art-loving family to the Olympic Sculpture Park.

One of Lorraine's many careers is a teacher.  She always gets down on the level of the child.  She is an amazing communicator and she indulges children in their very important games and conversations.  Children LOVE her.  She also suggested tons of things I can do at home to engage and teach Claire.    

Lorraine filled a critical role in my life as she freely and patiently gave me so much of her attention.  Attention equals Love.