Sunday, January 18, 2009

part-time parenting

so, i feel that i am blogging with my head hung in shame today. like so many of you, i resolved this year to be better at blogging. after all, it is the only real record i regularly keep of my little life. however, the days slowly melted into weeks, and now i feel a bit odd posting as nothing worthy of report has happened (obviously, or there would have been a blog).

luckily, i had a small encounter today that will be today's brief entry. i had the honor and privilege of speaking to some of my favorite people in the world on the telephone, my two wonderful nephews heath and wade.


the conversations were quite simple ("hey boo! i'm playing batman games! will you be a part of my birthday this year? when will you come to my house? yeah, because they look pretty cool." "daddy! banana! baby charlie!")

and it made me miss them even more than i already do. i know, i know. they're not my children. and many people find it freakish that i so obsessively follow their every move. but i really really love these varmints. sometimes, jesse and i will start a conversation on anything--say dish towels--and it always leads to a line like "hey, remember that one time that wade ate that dish towel and he made that one face? oh man, that was hilarious." and then we spend about ten minutes reminiscing on all the intelligent, hilarious, and sweet things that these boys whip out to melt my heart.

now, i have to be fair and state that i have so many wonderful nephews (seven) and nieces (two) that i love ridiculously, but jil has let me claim her sons as my own, and i do so willingly--heart wide open and maternal instincts firmly gripping these little ones down.

today i have spent some time thanking my heavenly father for letting me have such an amazing relationship with these boys while i have struggled with wanting some little ones of my own for quite some time.

they may not be our kids, but we sure love the kibbles and bits out of them.

12 comments:

Andrea said...

they are sooo adorable too-- which probably adds to the lovin.

Stephanie said...

they are quite precious indeed! i am especially in love with those pajamas- oh man! i think that the relationship between nieces and nephews and aunts is something that truly stirs those maternal instincts. before ambrose there was zac, madi, jason, jackson, bennett, and isaac and i still feel as strongly for them as i did before amby boy came in and stole my heart. it was like they were practice children and all the more special too because they are pieces of a most loved sibling. anyway, my long winded gush of emotions here is mainly to say- i totally totally understand and agree!

Audra said...

you need to pop out a few of your own! then you'll want to send them away to aunts and uncles!

B said...

They are great boys and they have a great aunt and uncle. it is so much fun having nieces and nephews to love and play with.

Ali said...

I loved this post. I love when you post. period.

One of my favorite things is watching my siblings (and parents) love my children. I love it.

And like you, I adore my nieces and nephews. One of my greatest sadnesses was leaving one in particular when we moved. She spent so much time with us and Eliza worships her. Wade and Heath are so lucky that you are there to love them so much.

Unknown said...

BOO,

They certainly are adorable..can you imagine loving anything more?? Your own children will cause your heart to HURT out of love. It's a wonder to me why anything else could possibly be as important as our loved ones-I mean, I certainly have my moments where I'd rather get my hair done than change another poopy diaper...

Alas, my simple life has grown to depend on these simple things in life!

melissa said...

i don't have any nieces or nephews, and if i have them before i have my own kids i'll be pretty disappointed but that means i'll never be able to understand this awesome bond i've heard about. it also means i have to fill the void i feel about not having any of my own kids with near-strangers' babies. if you invite me and nate to a party and there's a baby there, i'm a magnet to the child.

Suzie Koskella said...

It is so Wonderful and that you have a great relationship with your nephews and you love them so much! I know as a mom I love when My sister wants to take Jacob and loves him! I miss you girlie and hope you are doing great!

Diane said...

I think it's time for a wee one of your own....

But these cuties look like pretty good substitutes :)

Jil said...

The feeling is mutual, by the way. Heath and Wade are in love with you and Jesse too. Almost every time the phone rings Wade brings it to me and says "Boo!"

I'm glad Stephanie said even after having her own little baby she still loves her neices and nephews a ton. I've been worried you'll have little babies and stop loving mine so much. You're a special part of our little family.

Jones Family said...

So guess who came to my house today to pick some tool up for his house? You brother Weston. He told me his name and I thought, there can't be very many Weston Davis's in Idaho Falls. Sure enough, he said he was your brother. Anyway, I thought that was ironic!

Unknown said...

Jill's kids are SO cute!