Unclehood

Andy (upper level) on the phone with his niece Lorelei (lower level)

March 21, 2015
Day 325

Andy's brother Chris, sister-in-law Meredith, and niece Lorelei are in town this weekend, and today we went with them and a bunch of other family and friends to lunch followed by some fun time at the Long Island Children's Museum.

We were quickly reminded of two major truths in our life.  One: we love being uncles, and love spending time with each and every one of our nieces and nephews.  And two: we are very happy to be childless.

All around us today, parents were running after their children, and just trying to keep an eye on their kids every second of every moment.  If a child suddenly darted off in one direction, you'd see their pets--sorry, I mean their parents--start chasing after them.  On many occasions today, I'd turn to look at something for just a few seconds, only to turn my head back around and see absolutely no one I knew was left in the area.

How do parents do this?  How do they turn off all personal needs and wants, and live so thoroughly through the lives of their children? 

It's admirable, of course it is.  It's admirable and it's amazing.  It's also incredible, wonderful, selfless, and inspiring.  But that's just not for us.  We like being uncles who can spend time with our little nieces and nephews--even the not-so-little ones--and then leave.  No school to pay for, no discipline to worry about, no other lives than our own to fully immerse ourselves in.

We love being uncles, but parenthood just isn't for us.  Unclehood is its own special joy, and we love being uncles very, very much.