Punch for Uncle Denny

I've been enjoying reading the stories and memories that have been shared.  I've been trying to form the words to write one myself and then I keep talking myself out of sharing, thinking MY memories wouldn't mean anything to anyone else.  After reading what Wendy had to say tonight I decided to just share and let everyone decide for themself whether it was worth reading.  So here it goes...
 
I spent much of my life being afraid of Uncle Denny.  As a child I believed he really would shoot my dog, and as a teenager I was sure he was looking for me to do something wrong so he could get me in trouble with my Mom.  I observed the relationship my sister Candy had with Uncle Denny and wondered how it worked.  They truly enjoyed each other.  She never seemed afraid of him.  I think if we had the same experiences with him she would probably have not taken him so seriously, and I'm sure he knew that, maybe that was the ticket.
 
Several years ago my husband and I invited Uncle Denny over for Thanksgiving.  I was probably surprised at first that he showed up.  During dinner he asked who made the hot holiday punch, I had, he asked for another cup.  After dinner I offered to make a plate for the next day and he declined asking only if he could have the punch, ALL of it.  He told me that it reminded him of the punch his Mom would make.  I was so pleased by this.  I remember Nana and Mom making a hot holiday punch when I was a kid, I don't have the recipe for it though.  I came across a recipe that seemed similar so I used it as a base and added some things I remember Nana using.  It was so cool that we share this nice memory of Nana.  Uncle Denny told me that if I ever wanted to make his day I should just show up with two 5 gallon buckets of the punch sloshing around.  Every time I made the punch after that I would make a double batch and take it to him.  Once he wasn't home so I left it on the porch without a note or anything, he called while drinking the first glass.  He shared it with NOBODY!  Sometimes he would dilute it with diet lemon-lime soda to make it last longer.  It was meant to be served hot in a mug, but if you saw it in the fridge the brownish color would probably discourage you from drinking it but he smiled when he saw that I had marked the container "Poison" just to be sure.  I know I'll think about him every time I make that punch for the rest of my life.
-Kimmie