Swimming with Uncle Shane and Uncle Tom

Our dear friends, Shane and Tom, live in a beautiful building overlooking the city. To top it off, there's a pool :) They sweetly invited the Little Man over and he counted the days until the weather and Papa's back all cooperated.

Then, when we popped of of the Path train to Jersey, it was suddenly pouring. Wha?? But the swim gods were with us, and the weather quickly turned around. So, after frightening the resident kitty with zealous enthusiasm, P parked by the pool and enjoyed the view.



The Little Man adores seeing Shane and Tom (though he has a mysterious inability to remember their names when in their presence.) Part of this is that Uncle Shane has retained an adorable boyhood charm (sometimes called orneriness....) that fits in very naturally when interacting with a four year old :) So those two jumped in the pool and teased one another, Shane warning about his pool monster status, Phoenix loving the game, but not quite sure (gullible seed falling very close from the gullible father tree...) if Shane really could be a pool monster :) Then I pulled P along the pool with a noodle until he was chilly and ready to bother the Uncles again.



As we prepared to leave, P tried to stretch things out as long as possible. Then I heard him ask the Uncles if he could have something to remember them by. Wha?? As my cheeks flushed a deep hue, P was offered something by Tom.... that he turned down :) I tell ya, I love the honesty of four, but jeeeesh. Somehow retaining composure, Uncle Shane presented the Little Man with a soft owl, which was readily accepted as an acceptable remembrance. Phew ;)

P's told me since how the Universe is looking out for him :) The request for a home-made owl had crossed my desk a few times and I had yet to produce the goods. Then it just dropped (prompted by a very forward request, of course) into P's hands, much to his great joy.

Carting his owl, dubbed Owly (after the title character of the Andy Runton graphic novels P adores), back to Brooklyn, P chatted about his fun day, asking if Uncle what's their names could play again soon :) Then, after playing with the owl for a few days, he seemed to feel a weight associated with having taken it. He thought Uncle Shane might be missing it, wishing he hadn't given it away (this has happened to P before. He often gives something to visitors leaving our home, and occasionally gives something he really likes. While he never regrets the friend getting the gift, sometimes he does talk about how we could get him another one :) So he decided we'd make Uncle Shane a new owl and P would sew a kitty shaped bag to present it in. So, the owl order is sitting on my desk again :)