I never really met my extended family growing up. Living in suburban Maryland, we were geographically and economically distanced. When I received this phone message the day of my graduation, it was the last thing I had expected.
I am the first to graduate from college in my family, and it wasn't easy. Uncle Lenny is a man I know nothing about. I may have met him once as a toddler and yet it seemed the distance I'd felt from him and the rest of my family was impossible. His message nearly brought me to tears.