I didn’t have a great childhood, but when I think of happy moments, they were at my grandparents.
Uncle still lived there, and he had a ton of games. Video games. Board games. Novelty versions of Monopoly and Clue. We didn’t have to beg him, if he said he’d play with us, he would. We’d play for hours and he didn’t complain. He’d let us win.

Sometimes, on snow days, he’d call off so we wouldn’t drive our grandpa crazy begging him to play a game with us or to go outside and help build a snowman. Uncle would do that. Once, I’d been really sick when we got snow. All I wanted to do was build a snowman. He built me one where I could see it from the window.

When my brother and I got older, he’d take us to the movies with him and his friends on the weekend. We’d go out to eat afterwards. The last movie I saw with him before I got married was The Muppets. I’d grown up with him sharing his love for the old Muppet show with me. He had all the movies. If he wasn’t going to the movies that weekend, he’d take us to the comic shop. He’d let us hang out in his room, reading comics and telling us the history of different characters. He always had trivia about comics or movies.

After I got married, I’d still hang out with him or he’d come over with a movie he thought my husband or I would like. A little toy of our favorite characters, later our kids’ favorite characters. Just like he did with me, Uncle would watch movies and play games with his two grand-nieces. They considered him their best friend. He was always willing to play with them or listen to them go on and on about stuff that’s important to little kids. Just like with me, it didn’t matter how tired he was. If he could make someone’s day better by being there, he did just that.