did i mention that i love my

nephew...

he lives in melbourne and i live in sydney, so we have got into the habit of having 'phone dates'...now that sounds very structured, but hey, i have a job, he's only six and usually has, sadly, more social engagements than i do!!!

so i tried calling to speak to him Sunday but he was out playing golf with his best friend Oscar! then i tried calling lastnight but he was doing his 'reader' and not to be distracted...apparently this is something six year olds have to do at home after school. now i'm not 6 and it's been a long while since i went to school, but i'm guessing it's what kids these days call homework - a bit less like 'work', but still...

so finally today i call and he's available - not only available but he answers the phone saying 'hi aunty'...and i know you're thinking that i called at some pre-arranged time but i didn't! what i can tell you is that his mum (my sister) has my phone number programmed to ring with fur elise (you know, that beethoven piece that was all the rage when i learned to play the piano in the '80's!!!) so he actually knows that it's me calling...either way i don't care. how nice is it to have someone pick up the phone and say 'hi aunty'??? imagine how much i'm gonna love it when he's old enough to have a mobile phone....

so by the time i finally get hold of him we had loads to talk about: Carlton's first win of the pre season on Saturday night - see usually we talk either immediately after the game or the next morning so we can do a 'post match review' and if they win sing the team song together (this has become something of a tradition - long may it live)...and i knew that on Monday his school (along with 49 or so others) had gone to some AFL training day hosted by Richmond and Geelong so he was hoping that he would get to see Nathan Brown...

now for those of you who are AFL fans you will be confused, right? yep, the little guy is a Carlton fan and yes Nathan Brown plays for Richmond but ages ago (like maybe when he was 4) him and i wanted to make sure that we were talking only to each other on the phone so we chose 'secret passwords' as a way of identifying each other (yep, you can imagine how many 4 year olds i was in regular communication with)...anyway he chose 'Nathan Brown'...clear as mud now right?

so tonight we are talking about what he'd been doing today, whether or not he got to meet Nathan Brown on Monday (he didn't...) how school was etc and i told him i'd been at Bunnings looking at paint so i could choose a colour to paint my lounge...he said almost without thinking 'well why don't you paint it navy blue and get 'fevvy' to come over and help you and then you can also paint CFC on too' - doesn't miss a beat this kid! i had to laugh - can you imagine my lounge-room decorated as if it were Carlton headquarters, and don't get me wrong, i LOVE my Blues, but seriously....

i love how kid minds work! so it gets better - i tell him that Carlton are playing their 2nd game on Sat night and he says (and groans) 'not the Hawks?'...classic!

then i tell him that as it's a night game i'll call him Sunday morning for the post match review...i also tell him that i hope we get to sing the song as it's been ages since we've done that...so then of course he bursts into song and gives me a fabulous rendition of 'we are the navy blues' and says to me 'now it hasn't been ages aunty'...

is that sweet or what? he really is a sweet child...i am blessed he's in my life and i love that being with him or talking to him ALWAYS makes me smile...love your work mooky!