“L” is for Love.

When I was 10, my sister and I got to go on a trip with my Aunt Della and Uncle Frank.

We have always been very close with “Auntie” and “Unk”. They never had children of their own, and instead doted endlessly on their nieces and nephews. Auntie was hip and always current with music, Tv and trends, and Unk was always up for anything.

They picked us up in Timmins, then we made the 10 hour drive to spend a week with them at their home in Thunder Bay.

It was awesome.

We watched a lot of Mr. Bean, ate as many pop tarts and Joe Louie’s as we wanted, and we went on some really cool adventures. We saw the Terry Fox memorial, went to see the “sleeping giant” and then they drove us across the border to the Mall of America.

For a couple of kids from South Porcupine, it was the trip of a lifetime.

K and I didn’t always get along as kids. I was never, ever an annoying little sister, so I’m not sure why we fought all the time. We were both so excited to go on this trip though, so we had an unspoken truce for the duration.

Or so I thought.

Naturally, I took a lot of photos with my very exciting disposable camera. My aunt and uncle always had K and I get together, then I’d hand over my beloved camera and we’d snap a photo.

It wasn’t until I got home and developed them that I realized K had done the “L” for loser sign over my head in almost every. single. one.

I was SO MAD about it as a kid. As an adult, she’s now one of my best friends and they make me laugh so hard.

This one came up in my Timehop on the weekend, and I shared it with a laugh on my personal Instagram. But as I looked at this photo from slightly longer than four years ago (probably closer to five…), I realized something. I probably have 10-15 shots of K and I on this trip, all of her making this sign over my head.

My aunt and uncle took all the photos.

MY AUNT AND UNCLE TOOK ALL THE PHOTOS.

They let my sister make the “loser” sign over my head in every one without saying a word. There is NO way they didn’t know what it meant, or even if by some small chance that they didn’t, they didn’t ask.

I can only imagine them having a chuckle at K’s expression of our relationship, which Della would have understood all too well, being the oldest of three sisters. So, they just kept taking photos.

When I put this together on the weekend, I laughed SO hard. If that’s not the coolest Auntie and Unk ever, I don’t know what is.

By the way, I now choose to believe the “L” is for LOVE because I am the best little sister anyone could have.

The End.

P.s. I have a journal from when I was a kid which is basically a collection of entries about our fights and how much we didn’t like each other. Some day I’ll share an entry. It’s gold.