December 22, 2005
My brother-in-law is one of the best people I know. I poke a little fun at him in these journal entries sometimes, but that's just because I love him, and don't we all poke a little fun sometimes at the people we love? Well, I do, anyway.
He works outdoors for most of the year, and then usually in the winter he has a hiatus of several weeks to sometimes several months, and for the past few years he's been spending that hiatus with us. The first year, he actually slept in my little brother's room while we were all living at my mom's house (and he expressed wonderment that he was really welcome in a house already crammed with so many people, but frankly I think my mom got along better with him than with us at the time). Last year he stayed in the attic room of our crummy student-area rental, accompanied by a space heater, which was necessary as the louvered window of that attic room was broken and refused to shut even in the coldest chill of winter. (As though the window cared what temperature it was outside... the rest of us sure did, though.)
I think it's a measure of how much he values our company that he never put up any complaint about any of this. Hell, in the attic room, I don't think he could even stand up straight. A few jokes were made about hobbit-sized sleeping quarters, but he never seriously complained about it.
When Zeke was born, he was one of the first people to hold him. He told me later about the sense of awe that overtook him as he considered the tiny size of the infant in his hands, and how dependent that infant was on him at that moment. He and Zeke bonded from that day. Zeke talks about his uncle incessantly during the time he's not here, and when he is here, he is his favorite playmate. Whenever I'm trying to find either of them, I look first in the basement playroom and often that is where they are, Zeke intently explaining some detail of his train track or his block building to Dennis.
He is sweet and good and we all love him, and if any of you were wondering who this brother-in-law is that I mention in passing from time to time, that is who he is. I try not to hold other people in the spotlight in my journal too often, but I thought that because it is Christmas, he deserves a gift besides socks, and this is it, small and short though it may be.
Posted at December 22, 2005 10:28 PM
Posted by: Bibiana Powell at December 23, 2005 3:41 AM
Hurray for Aunties and Uncles of all types!! (natural and honorary)
We love them all dearly and are immensely grateful in their help of raising our kids. They're so very important in helping kids learn about other adults, and trust and love and all that jazz from people who are not their parents.
BTW, I noticed today that despite the fact that our older child is in middle school and the younger in third grade, we still have smashed cheerio's on our floors...I don't know what that really means, but unless I stop buying them, I guess I'm doomed to experience this for some time longer. I wish you better luck in your cereal containment system.
Merry Christmas! Happy Solstice! (ahh, yes, the cards and letters might actually get done this year, as the older child has made a couple dozen by hand...)