Happy Birthday, Uncle Javed!

When I was younger, my sister and I would spend most every day after school at my grandmother's house. We would ride the bus and Ammi would meet us at the top of the hill and walk us down the picturesque street to her home. My second home. And each and every afternoon, I would see my Uncle Javed.

Uncle Javed is my mom's youngest sibling, and nine years older than me. We fought like brother and sister. I remember how every afternoon, he would eat cereal out of one of Ammi's dark yellow tall glasses. At that time, he was very into stocks and futures, so he would want to watch CNBC, while I wanted to watch "Saved by the Bell" and "Full House." Ammi always made him turn it and saved me from watching that horribly boring ticker scroll continuously at the bottom of the screen. Usually at this point, when I got to watch my kid shows, he would go to his room and play on his electric guitar. He was self-taught, and my sister (Sara) and I would often go stand outside of his room and listen to him play. I still like Kiss because of him. Sometimes, out in the hallway, we would even dance. As soon as we heard the music stop, we would run as fast as we could back to the living room so he wouldn't know how much we cared.

I remember when I was sick, I would stay at Ammi's. To this day, the thought of the old vampire show, "Dark Shadows" soothes me. That's what Uncle Javed used to watch in the mornings while I was sick and lying on the couch. Goodness, it really seems like all this happened just yesterday.

He used to say that when I was a baby, he dropped me in the toilet. I would say that was a joke, but to this day, I have no idea if that was true or not.

One time, I rode back from Atlanta to Mississippi with him. I guess I was in junior high at this point, and I begged him to somehow take me to see "Interview With A Vampire." My parents wouldn't let me see it, and this came out when my love for Brad Pitt was at an all-time high. I almost talked Uncle Javed into it, but alas he wouldn't take me. I remember how we stopped on the way back so he could buy a Pittsburgh Steelers jacket. That was my first lesson about credit. Uncle Javed paid for the jacket with his credit card and told me how he rarely used his card, but every once in a while you should use it and pay off the entire balance to build up your credit.

When Uncle Javed got married years ago, I couldn't hold back my tears. I have never cried at a wedding the way I did as his. It was the kind of crying where your throat hurts and you don't want anyone to see you, but finally you give in. His wife Deena is lovely and they are a perfect match; I wasn't crying about that. I was crying because I knew things would never be the same. Of course most of us grow up, get married and have children, but it was hard to watch Uncle Javed grow up. All of a sudden, I missed our afternoons. It was then that I realized how much I cared about him.

And so, his birthday is on Saturday, June 16. This is my gift to him. I couldn't have asked for a better uncle. He was an important presence in my young life, and I am very proud of him and all he has accomplished. He also has three beautiful children, and the youngest one is a baby boy that looks exactly like Uncle Javed's baby pictures. Perhaps there will be glimpses of us as his children grow and fight and care for one another.

Life is different now, but he will always be dear to me. Happy Birthday, Uncle Javed! May God continue to bless your life in the coming year and always.

Labels: family