My four-year-old niece Erin thinks I’m great. On an average day, remembering that she does makes me feel great.
Whenever I visit her home, she gets so excited to see me arrive she leaps into my arms as soon as I step inside the front door. Now how many places can a person go in this world and expect a greeting like that?
So when she wanted me to steal an hour away from work and be her buddy on Bring a Friend Day at her nursery school last week, “no” was not an answer that was available to me.
When I pulled into her parents’ driveway, I could see her through the picture window, all bundled up in her winter clothes and sitting on top of the television, waiting for me to show up. I beeped the horn, she saw me and headed for the door.
“I’ve been many things in my life,” I said to her mother as I entered the house, “but this is the first time I’ve ever been an item for show and tell.”
“It’s not show and tell,” Erin protested. “It’s Bring a Friend Day.” I stood corrected. I would stand corrected many more times in the next hour.
After a hasty goodbye to her sisters and her mother, Erin and I walked mitt in glove down the front steps. Before we reached the sidewalk, question period was well under way.
“Is this a sports car?” she asked, as I was unlocking her door. I told her it was.
“Do you have only one car?” she enquired, as I buckled her seat belt. When I told her one was all I have, she replied: “We have two cars. My Daddy has a big car and my Mommy has a small car but my Daddy takes the small car to work because it has more gas in it.” That’s a good idea, I said.
“Why do you have a beard?” she asked. When I said I wasn’t really sure why, she said, “My Daddy used to have a beard.”
“Oh?” I said, and figuring I’d get in a question of my own, I continued, “Why doesn’t he have it any more?”
“He shaved it off,” she said. Good reason.
As we neared the school, I slowed down and turned in.
“How do you know where my school is?” Erin asked. I’d been there before, I told her.
“When?” Before she was born, I said.
“Have you been an uncle for a long time?” she wondered. I have, I assured her.
Inside the school, I helped my little friend off with her coat and boots and carefully followed her crisp instructions on where they – along with her hat and mittens – belonged. She had some trouble realizing unmarried uncles just don’t know the things that are so obvious to moms and dads.
Inside the school room, the first order of business was to go have a look at baby Sniffer, the pet hamster who lives in a cage near one corner of the room. Sniffer was busy sleepin’ it off, half buried in a pile of wood shavings, but the way Erin described him, I could tell he’s a real panic when he’s awake.
“This is the new baby Sniffer,” she said. “The other baby Sniffer died.”
To kick off the hour, the nursery school leader called us all to sit on the floor in a big circle, the buddies seated directly behind their little friends. Each child had to introduce his or her buddy.
“And who did you bring with you today, Erin?” asked the leader.
“This is my Uncle Jim,” Erin proudly told her schoolmates and after a mild round of applause, she added: “He has a beard.” The other kids all looked my way and confirmed that what she said was true. They couldn’t have been more impressed if they were staring at an alien. If there was a prize for most unusual buddy, Erin would have won it.
The next hour was packed with activities as Erin showed me every single item in the school. After checking out a puppet show someone else’s buddy was putting on, we headed for a child’s kitchen where we cooked up and ate a make-believe meal. Before the hour ended, we drew pictures and coloured them, made things out of playdough, climbed up to a loft where we looked out over the classroom and had some real cookies and juice.
Each time I said I’d better go – she was to stay after I left – Erin found us one more thing to do until finally, I was the only buddy still there.
“All the other buddies have gone home, Erin,” I said to her. She looked around, saw I was correct, and immediately leaned over and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. I realize now it was a “here’s your hat, what’s your hurry?” smooch because as soon as it was delivered, I was tuned out in favour of a more interesting channel.
Uncles are great things to have around. At least until Bring a Friend Day is over.
After all, you can’t get very much serious fun happening while someone old enough to grow a beard is hanging around.
©1988 Jim Hagarty
