Uncle Morley and 7 Little Blessings

Uncle Morley, mom's brother, and Aunt Alice lived in the parsonage across the street from the Baptist Church where he was pastor for seven years. Uncle Morley was as different from his wife as Jack Sprat from his. Tall and lean with a deep gentle voice, he had a towering presence, whereas Aunt Alice was a short dumpling of a woman, with rosy cheeks and a tinkling laugh. They complemented each other perfectly and adored children, which may explain why they had seven.

I loved it when they came to visit, though because of his pastoral duties, it was rare. It was especially fun when they brought all the children along: Donald, David, Barbara, Margaret, Audrey, Richard and little Bobby. (I hope I've got them straight and in the order of their births.) They would come into the kitchen and sit on each stairstep leading from the kitchen, around and up toward the upstairs.

When all the greetings were over and everyone settled in to visit ( always in the kitchen informally) the children invariably got restless and "had to go!" The chorus would begin: "First on the hole!" "Second on the hole!" "Third on the hole!" and so on. None would be left out, as they filed in turn to the upstairs bathroom, then back to their respective perches on the stairs. They must have had strict training on behaviour, because they were perfect little gentlemen and ladies.

The only time I heard about one of the children misbehaving was an incident Aunt Alice told us about. The first time little Bobby attended the regular church service instead of the children's downstairs, he had been very quiet, and she was very proud of him until she heard him say to Richard, "I got 25 cents--how much did you get?" right after the offering plate was passed. No one had told him you had to put the money in!