This beautiful beast was inspired by Inara, my brother’s niece by marriage. She calls me “Aunt Becky,” even though I'm not actually her aunt in any legal or blood way. Oh, how I love the sound of her sweet voice saying a label that I’ve hardly earned. Extended family is so special, it’s hard to describe, and harder still to explain to people who don’t have as much as we do. Frank’s in-laws became part of my extended family, along with our 22 first cousins (some of whom are almost like siblings to us), and their 45 kids (many of whom are like nieces and nephews to us), all of which I delight in using to confuse my students. Frank’s wife, Kelly, died in 2012, which for some would mean the end of in-law relationships. Instead, a beautiful thing happened, a new closeness. Shortly after Kelly’s funeral, Frank told me that his sister-in-law, Rebekah, had said to him, “You are still uncle to our kids, you will always be their uncle.” Also, Frank later told me that he has become better fri
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