Sosy and her friend Audrey were talking family yesterday.
Sosy laid it all out for Audrey. Brian is dad. Amy is mom. Robbie and Chris are uncles. Jennifer, Jessica and Kathy are aunts. Becky is too. And I’m with Becky so that makes me an uncle.
Audrey stopped her there.
Out of everyone on that list Audrey recognized only Becky and me. We hang out quite a bit with her parents.
She usually keeps her distance, eyeing me from behind mom’s leg or the back of a couch, occasionally mustering the nerve to wave or give me something she’s colored.
“Do you love your Uncle Shaun?” Audrey asked.
“Ummmm,” Sosy stalled. “He likes to talk.”
Which, technically, I keep telling myself, is not a “no.”
BeccaRae says:
kid conversations are the best!
Vicki Small says:
LOL! Well, Shaun, some day they’ll both be old enough and wise enough to realize you talked about things that were important and worthwhile. ‘Course, you may be too old to care, by then…. 🙂
Rebecca in e.tx says:
hilarious!! kids really are too funny!! and they can be brutally honest at times 🙂
Amy @ My Friend Amy says:
So cute! And so funny. Hey I like to talk, too.
Karen F. says:
One time I was talking to my 5-year-old nephew on the phone and when the conversation was over I said, “I love you, Alex!”
His reply:
“Daddy . . . do I love her?”
Nice.
dubdynomite says:
Anything other than a yes….
From some of the twitpics that Brian has posted, I’ve gathered that Sosy is quite the snazzy dresser.
What a cutie!
Thomas says:
Well, at least she did not call you ancient like my nephew called me last weekend.
Shaun Groves says:
Oohh. Ouch, Thomas. I’m older than you.
Thomas says:
Um, I do believe that I have you by a couple of years. I just look and act young for my age.
angie smith says:
ummm, did you hear that recently kate came up to me soooo sweetly and patted me, saying, “mommy, your baby is getting SOOOO BIG!!!” adorable, right?
yeah. except that she was patting my butt.
awesome.
Shaun Groves says:
She likes back, mom. Other bruthas may deny but she knows what she likes.
Kassi says:
I love how children are so honest, it is sometimes uncomfortable…but still sweet and endearing.
annie says:
It’s definitely not a “no!”
What a beautiful girl.
Jill Wade says:
Could there every be more of a Sosy thing to say? i think not. She’s so adorable….lucky YOU to be her uncle!
Shelley says:
That’s a yes, girls love guys who aren’t afraid to talk.
Elaina says:
Kids are awesome and hilarious.
Missy @ It's Almost Naptime says:
I used to live across the street from Robbie & Liz.
Which has nothing to do with anything except that (sing it now) It’s a small world, af-ter all…it’s a small world aaaafter all….
Sarah says:
I love it! I’m with you, it’s totally not a “no” 🙂
NancyTyler says:
She SHOULD love you. You let her climb on top of a fence for those pictures. Moms and dads totally would not let their own kids do that. 😉
I love being an aunt/auntie/tía to my nieces, nephews, godkids, babycousins, younger friends and friends’ kids. I get to hug and kiss on them (kids will let an aunt do that well past the Age of Embarrassment), earnestly listen to their stories, be a fan of their art and athletics, rough house (til they’re taller than I am, which happens at roughly age 12), fill them with more sweets than their moms need to know about and at birthdays and Christmas, give them toys requiring batteries and earplugs or gift cards requiring a trip to the mall. They don’t have the same joy about gifts of goats in their name to families in the third world or donations to charities in their honor, but they get those too.
Best of all, I can give them, in bite size doses, wisdom about life and choices and faith. It could be the same stuff they hear from their parents. But somehow it sounds different, coming from an aunt. Parents spend their days directing kids to do this or that. Parents “have” to love them and are tasked with turning wild things into civilized humans who can sit at a table and eat with utensils. But the time aunts and uncles spend in play and communication with kids is a choice. And kids know that. They know when they have been chosen and they know when they are loved.