Kevin, Like Marlon Brando, Is "The Godfather"

The shameless reference to The Godfather is simply to draw in readers, I admit. Raise your hand if you're reading this post now solely due to its intriguing title. Anyone?

Nevertheless, I am a godfather to my cousin Herbert's son, Christopher. Herbert's parents are Leroy and Marcella, who is one of my mom's sisters. They used to live in Williston, ND, some forty-five minutes away from the farm upon which I grew up, so I saw them all with regularity throughout my childhood. For the past many years, they have all (including Herbert's wife, Aree, and their daughter, Jennifer) lived in Kennewick, WA. Marcella has been good about staying in contact through the years, often sharing school- and sports-related newspaper clippings about Christopher as he has developed into the 19-year-old man he is today.

We last saw them all about three years ago when we stopped by Marcella and Leroy's house on our way through Kennewick en route to my sister Cathy's home in Gresham, OR (at the time). Well, tonight was their turn to visit us! Marcella sent us a card in August saying they would be in ND September 10 and would stop to visit us in Dickinson. Susan prepared a turkey/mashed potatoes/stuffing/gravy/sweet potatoes/corn/Jell-O salad + chocolate cake supper last night in case they arrived on the 10th and could dine with us. They arrived this evening instead and phoned us from their hotel after they'd eaten.

So, after the girls were done with ballet lessons, we met them at their hotel and visited for several hours. Christopher didn't really remember our visit three years ago, and Herbert had been at work and wasn't able to see us back then . . . and hadn't seen me since moving to WA, so he had never even met Susan or the girls! We had a good visit and got caught up on the big goings-on in one another's lives. I was looking forward to seeing Marcella because she resembles her mom, my grandma Mary (deceased), so very much that seeing Marcella is like seeing Grandma Roloff again! She even has Grandma's hands and soft arms (my sisters will know exactly what I mean by that). The girls took to her right away, too, hugging her and sitting in her lap and treating her like a grandma.

So there was much hugging and handshaking all around. There was also much giggling on the part of the girls at Herbert's jokes and good-natured teasing and goofiness. And, of course, there were many photos taken. Here's one of the Roloff relatives:

front row: Christopher, Herbert, Marcella, Hillary, Abigail, Suzanna
back row: Kevin, Leroy

In addition, Marcella came bearing gifts: an afghan and two doilies that she herself had crocheted:

As you can see, they're beautiful, and I very much appreciate their keepsake value: they will always remind me of her and her lifetime of needlework, something that I associate, too, with Grandma Roloff (as well as many other relatives, for that matter). It was good to visit with them all and to see Christopher again, who just keeps getting taller and more muscular with every passing year and who seems to be a very fine young man. It's difficult to imagine that he's the same guy I held as a baby at his baptism nearly twenty years ago!

They will leave tomorrow to continue their travels through ND, reintroducing--or, in some cases, introducing--Christopher to his relatives from this part of the world. We're so glad they included us in their itinerary!