Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Not far from the tree

It's weird to have a nephew around all the time, to see him develop a little personality, to watch him experience the world for the first time.The other day, I put a werewolf mask on and got down on my hands and knees and started crawling toward him. I wondered if he would laugh, if he would cry, if he would think it was a game . . . if he would know it was me . . . you know, are children instinctively afraid of monsters, or is that taught, like racism and a-holism?

So, the one year old was playing silently, when suddenly, he noticed me. He froze, and began to stammer, like he was about to cry (or me trying to ask a girl to the prom). Then he ran away.

A minute later, I put the mask back on, and this time, I guess he realised it was me, because he actually came over and grabbed its face. Good for him.It's great taking care of this kid. Probably because I know it's temporary, I know most of the responsibility isn't mine, and he's only unplugged my computer once. I've got a couple of overpriced ALIENS toys on a bookshelf up high, and lately my sister's child reaches for them when he's in my room.

So, I thought I'd get them down and see what he'd do. I thought maybe he was under the impression that they were alive, and would be disappointed to find they were just plastic, but no, he played with them like they were the awesome toys that . . . well, they are.

I really do love that kid.

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