But instead of labeling this summer the "Summer of Suck," I'm choosing to respond to these problems with the best possible attitude and focus on the positive aspects of my summer thus far. After all, the "problems" I'm dealing with are (using a term my friend Jennie referenced), "champagne problems." I'm definitely not lost to the fact that things could be so much worse. Self-pity has never gotten anyone anywhere, so what's the point? I allowed myself to be upset for a hot minute (mostly about having to drop $5k on ONE TOOTH), and then I chose to move on.
Anyhoo, one such positive aspect of my summer thus far was my annual July trip to Ohio. Last year's visit was so much fun that I worried this vacation might not live up to all the fun I managed to find myself in last year. Thankfully, I realized on my very first night in town that I had nothing to worry about. In addition to taking in a minor league baseball game, an Italian fest, fireworks, hiking, dining out, lots of therapeutic working out and lots of therapeutic eating and drinking, I was able to spend LOTS of time with my favorite person in the world - my nephew, Ethan.
Ethan is 9.5 years old, yet he's incredibly mature for his age. He can hold his own in any conversation with an adult, and may even come off as intimidating. He has no trouble telling it like it is and then informing you of his opinion on the matter. The kid is an expert at negotiation, and if you announce a plan, say the order in which you wish to run your various errands, for example, Ethan will be quick to challenge your logic and introduce a more efficient order to run such errands. And the thing is, he's usually right.
His looks, however, are in sharp contrast to his mature, 9-going-on-39 personality. You see, at nearly 10 years old, Ethan is still such an adorable little guy! His Mom, who can't even claim to be 5 feet tall, confessed to me through a whisper behind her hand that "Ethan is the smallest person in his class." Whether or not this bothers Ethan is unknown, but I can tell you that it makes his Aunt Steph very happy to be able to carry him around piggy back style with zero strain. Additionally, his baby face remains stubbornly intact, which makes it hard to refrain from squeezing his cheeks and smothering him with kisses, not unlike the cliched image seen on TV of an old auntie aggressively squeezing and kissing the cheeks of non-enthusiastic nephews. He also has a scratchy voice and a lisp that only compliments his irresistible cuteness. When I used the phrase "sense of humor" during a conversation with my brother, for example, Ethan butted in, mockingly, with, "Who theth thenth of humor?!" Giggles.
We shared many quality moments and highlights during the week, including creating secret handshakes, making up a dance routine that my parents and brother were enlisted to judge, Ethan taking responsibility for charging my phone each night (I have no idea what possessed him to adopt responsibility for my phone's battery life, but I appreciated the gesture, nonetheless), Ethan providing a tutorial about how to utilize the various features of said phone, and playing Words with Friends while sitting right next to each other.
Here are some other amusing highlights:
The Bachelor's Bachelorette
I discovered only hours into my vacation that Ethan and I share an affinity for watching The Bachelorette. We engaged in such an intense conversation about Ms. Ashley Bachelorette's suitors at dinner that the rest of the family seemed to disappear from the table. Ethan casually threw around words like "feelings" and "communication," which simultaneously humored me and terrified me. He is only 9, right? When I suggested we watch The Bachelorette together that following Monday, he replied with, "Yes! We can flip back and forth between The Bachelorette and WWE Smackdown!" Ah. And there it was. Confirmation that he is still very much a boy's boy.
Lazy River Revelations - The Sequel
If you remember this post from last year http://bigcitysmallpotatoes.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html, then you know that Ethan and I had some pretty remarkable adventures at the water park. Like last year's trip to Ohio, I was able to spend the day at the local water park with Ethan during my visit this year. Except unlike last year, we were lucky enough to go twice in one week! And also unlike last year, I didn't have to beg Ethan to share a double-person tube with me in the lazy river! Since floating semi-aimlessly seems to inspire deep conversation between us, I curiously asked Ethan if he's already thought about which college he'd like to go one day. He replied without hesitation, "Duke. Or Yale." Impressed, I then asked him what career he'd like to have as an adult. While I personally would pin him to become a litigation attorney, his reply wasn't unusual for a 4th grader, as he informed me he'd be happy with either being a professional baseball, basketball or soccer player. I then challenged him to come up with a career he'd like to have if he couldn't play sports professionally. This "hypothetical situation" question seemed to surprise him and he sternly informed me that he didn't want to do anything else besides play sports professionally. I pleaded with him to come up with something, to which he finally replied (in a very sarcastic and slightly irritated tone), "I don't know, work at Walmart?!"
Run Like the Wind... at a Moderate Pace and with Breaks
One morning I announced that I was going running in the neighborhood. Ethan offered to run with me, which made me excited beyond belief. My Mom, Dad and brother share little to zero of my interests (often making me feel like the black sheep of the family), so when Ethan made his offering, I was quick to encourage him to lace up his sneaks. For a short while, Ethan kept up with his Aunt Steph! I modified my pace, but not too much. He was chatting the whole time, which made me worry he'd soon run out of gas. And run out of gas, he did. We paused for breaks, he with his hands on his knees huffing and puffing, me annoyingly running in place. I told him we only had to run for just ten more minutes before he could say that he accomplished running three miles, and the determination in his eyes told me he was hell bent on hitting that three mile mark. During our final break, while I was running in place, he calmly but sternly told me to "Stop. Just stop. Will you please just stop running for a second?" I complied, assuming he was totally annoyed by my perky, perpetual energy, but it turned out he just needed me to be still so he could wipe his sweat-soaked face all over my shirt. Lovely. After we finished those three miles, Ethan sent a text message to everyone he knew notifying them of his accomplishment. He was so proud! And now I finally had a running buddy for my visits to Ohio! I fantasized about how we'd soon engage in casual conversations that included terms like pace, 5k, miles, race, shin splints, etc. Alas, my hopefulness was short lived, as Ethan woke up incredibly sore the next day. After slowly making his way down the stairs, Ethan found me in the kitchen and greeted me with the words, "Never. Again."
Not so Smoothie
I needed to run some errands one morning, and Ethan came along for the ride, er, walk. I wanted to go to McDonald's to get a coffee, but I had to promise Ethan a smoothie to avoid catching hell for putting a glitch in our firmly established schedule. On the way there, he mentioned that his stomach was cramping because he was hungry. Well, lunch time was approaching, after all, so I said he could also get a "snack" with his smoothie. When we got up to the counter, I ordered my $0.99 coffee and his smoothie. When I asked Ethan to tell the cashier what snack he wanted to order, he said, "I'll take the number 4 meal." And at that, my $0.99 trip to McDonald's skyrocketed to $8.00. Lesson learned? Having kids, even if they are not your own, is expensive!
Sweat the Sweet Stuff
One morning while Ethan was still sleeping, I was rooting around a drawer in the bedroom. Ethan slowly began to stir, to which I offered a soft, "Good morning, pumpkin." He rubbed his eyes and groggily returned my greeting. He then stretched his arms out and requested me to "come here." I obliged, and that is when he gave me one of his trademark I'm-never-ever-going-to-let-you-go hugs. During this sweet gesture he softly said, "I'm glad you're here." My heart subsequently melted into a pool of unconditional love.
And so there it was - a quintessential, perspective-altering, ah-ha moment in life reminding me that money, possessions, bum teeth, etc. hold absolutely no merit in the grand scheme of life experiences. It's the sweet and special moments with my nephew (as well as the meaningful moments and gestures from additional family and friends) that I'll remember twenty years from now - not how much money I have in the bank today, or whatever needless items or entertainment I choose to spend my dollars on this week.
2011 may not be going the way that I had hoped or planned, but I take comfort in knowing that I can always count on time with the people that matter most to me to reflect upon what is positively perfect about life.
