Uncle Eddie
I'm no stranger to uncle-hood. In fact, I've been a certified uncle (and godfather) for over a decade (12 years and counting). My sister's kids are the best nieces in the world and every time I hear about them they have done something else to make this uncle proud.
When I married Linda, I more than doubled my unclehood, going from 2 nieces to 3 nieces and 2 nephews. I'm starting to get used to being called "uncle" Eddie. I have started getting used to signing birthday and christmas cards "uncle". One of my nephews graduated high school and I'm used to looking at anyone under the age of 25 as a child barely out of 3rd grade.
As an aside, I am sure I will be a terror as a senior citizen:
93 Year old Ed: You young kids don't understand a thing about living.
73 year old next to me: Oh give it up already...
So what has me re-evaluating my unclehood? My 7 year old nephew, Jakob, is spending the summer up in Maryland (he lives in NC). Specifically, he is staying with Linda and Brian and I for the next 6 weeks.
So Linda and I have been trying to juggle play-dates and pool memberships and trips to Chuck-E-Cheese and "chores" around the house and sports to play outside. We have a 6 week itinierary we need to fill and we didn't fill it by the time he came up. Brian was thinking ahead though and warned Jakob he would need to do chores for allowance money over the summer, which means Linda's gardens will be well weeded.
Yesterday morning Jakob walked into the screened in porch where Linda and I were eating breakfast and reading the paper and announced: "I'm bored!". This is the first horseman of the apocalypse when you are babysitting.
He couldn't possibly be bored, as he had just gotten up (and Linda and I had just sat down). Frantic, I grabbed a pen and paper and proceeded to draw little mustaches on cartoon characters in the funny papers. Jakob thought it was the funniest thing since sliced bread. We gave him some markers and he had an activity that held up for the next 45 minutes. Disaster was, thus, narrowly averted.
This is a new stage of "unclehood". This isn't "stop by and see the nieces and play for a few hours and go home". This is 24-7 uncleage. And, unlike my other nieces and nephews, Jakob isn't surrounded by school friends and neighborhood kids and planned summer camps. He's starting from scratch up here for 6 weeks, which means he needs all the help he can get to make this summer a fun one.
Last night, watching the tail end of Scooby-Doo with a sleepy Jakob using me as a pillow, I realized that, as far as 24-7 uncles go I do pretty good.
Why am I good at it? I claim no credit. When I was growing up I had the best uncle in the world: my uncle Ralph. We would do every kind of activity imaginable. He was batman, I was robin (unless I was batman and he was robin). We were the Dukes of Hazzard fleeing Boss Hogg. He taught me to play golf and bears full responsibility for the horror that is my golf game.
When I'm interacting with Jakob I find myself continously thinking: what would Ralphie do in this situation. I have no idea if my answer is anywhere close to what Ralph would do, but so far, my guesses have worked quite well.
Which reminds me, I need to give Ralph a phone call and thank him for teaching me how to stay young. I also need to get on the internet and get a crah course in Pokemon.
-Uncle Ed
When I married Linda, I more than doubled my unclehood, going from 2 nieces to 3 nieces and 2 nephews. I'm starting to get used to being called "uncle" Eddie. I have started getting used to signing birthday and christmas cards "uncle". One of my nephews graduated high school and I'm used to looking at anyone under the age of 25 as a child barely out of 3rd grade.
As an aside, I am sure I will be a terror as a senior citizen:
93 Year old Ed: You young kids don't understand a thing about living.
73 year old next to me: Oh give it up already...
So what has me re-evaluating my unclehood? My 7 year old nephew, Jakob, is spending the summer up in Maryland (he lives in NC). Specifically, he is staying with Linda and Brian and I for the next 6 weeks.
So Linda and I have been trying to juggle play-dates and pool memberships and trips to Chuck-E-Cheese and "chores" around the house and sports to play outside. We have a 6 week itinierary we need to fill and we didn't fill it by the time he came up. Brian was thinking ahead though and warned Jakob he would need to do chores for allowance money over the summer, which means Linda's gardens will be well weeded.
Yesterday morning Jakob walked into the screened in porch where Linda and I were eating breakfast and reading the paper and announced: "I'm bored!". This is the first horseman of the apocalypse when you are babysitting.
He couldn't possibly be bored, as he had just gotten up (and Linda and I had just sat down). Frantic, I grabbed a pen and paper and proceeded to draw little mustaches on cartoon characters in the funny papers. Jakob thought it was the funniest thing since sliced bread. We gave him some markers and he had an activity that held up for the next 45 minutes. Disaster was, thus, narrowly averted.
This is a new stage of "unclehood". This isn't "stop by and see the nieces and play for a few hours and go home". This is 24-7 uncleage. And, unlike my other nieces and nephews, Jakob isn't surrounded by school friends and neighborhood kids and planned summer camps. He's starting from scratch up here for 6 weeks, which means he needs all the help he can get to make this summer a fun one.
Last night, watching the tail end of Scooby-Doo with a sleepy Jakob using me as a pillow, I realized that, as far as 24-7 uncles go I do pretty good.
Why am I good at it? I claim no credit. When I was growing up I had the best uncle in the world: my uncle Ralph. We would do every kind of activity imaginable. He was batman, I was robin (unless I was batman and he was robin). We were the Dukes of Hazzard fleeing Boss Hogg. He taught me to play golf and bears full responsibility for the horror that is my golf game.
When I'm interacting with Jakob I find myself continously thinking: what would Ralphie do in this situation. I have no idea if my answer is anywhere close to what Ralph would do, but so far, my guesses have worked quite well.
Which reminds me, I need to give Ralph a phone call and thank him for teaching me how to stay young. I also need to get on the internet and get a crah course in Pokemon.
-Uncle Ed
posted by Ed at 1:07 PM
1 Comments:
This is a problem that has plagued me since I became an uncle... I have a nephew that likes video games, and plays them a bunch at his house. When he is visiting my house, do I let him play mine?
I do supervise what he chooses and often sit with him while he is playing. But for the most part I am still struggling with allowing him to play. Then again, thats about the only real reason he wants to visit my house- my X-box. Sad isn't it?
Post a Comment
<< Home