Most weekday mornings around here begin with a good morning phone call to Daddy. Before Nadia’s even out of the crib, she asks “Daddy at work?” and when I tell her yes, she just has to call her Daddy.
Yesterday morning followed the usual ritual…with one exception. She didn’t ask if Daddy was at work and she didn’t ask to call Daddy. Oh no, it was Uncle Tim she wanted.
My “little” (as in, 4 years younger, but tall and broad-shouldered and muscular!) brother has been staying with us during the week for the few weeks. He and my husband work together, and it’s the most practical arrangement for the project they’re currently working on. Considering they have to be on site by 6:30 a.m. and the place is 5 minutes from our house but an hour from Tim…it’s easier for him this way. Hey, when you’re a 20 year old young man living with Mom and Dad, it’s no big deal to throw a couple changes of clothes in a duffel bag and camp out on the living room floor!
Nadia hadn’t seen a whole lot of her Uncle Tim before this, and she was pretty leery of him at first, peering out at him with big eyes from the safety behind Mommy’s legs. After the first week, she decided this Tim guy was okay, but she still ignored him for the most part.
And now? She still watches him with big eyes, but it’s no longer apprehension behind them; it’s adoration. Oh my does she love her Tim! She idolizes him. For Nadia, all teenage/young men are now named “Tim.” Uncle Tim is the lucky recipient of little girl gifts like the very last of her fruit snack…he has the honor of buckling her into the car seat…and when she’s almost in meltdown mode and Mommy’s words fall on deaf ears, all it takes is one word from Uncle Tim and she’s happy again.
And, she wants to call Tim in the morning (Daddy’s a bit distressed over that!) It’s very sweet to see my brother and my daughter developing such a bond!
