Last night I received the best present I could ever have received this year: I got to see my niece, Abbey, and my nephews, Jack and Cooper, who have come back to Brisbane from Port Hedland for the Christmas break. I have not seen them since November 2013 and confess that I have been missing them desperately and probably more than I usually do of late.
The minute they walked through the door I felt energised and delighted. These 3 little people together have an infectious energy that just uplifted me. Separately too I had moments with each of them that made me realize just how blessed I am to have them in my life:
- Jack (9) is into baseball and when we were playing backyard cricket I promoted him to throw a ball back to me hard. The throw he unfurled had, as he described it, “some chilli on it” and hit me in square in the chest. This kid has an arm!
- Cooper (6) has discovered cricket and when asked by me who his favourite cricketer is he replied “you are Uncle Steve”. That’ll do me!
- Abbey (2) running around the house wanting to play hide and go seek with her “Uncle Sven” … She can’t quite say my name yet but it was great to play with her!
I wrote yesterday that I had been running fumes of late and needed a break. Seeing Jack, Cooper and Abbey has been a tonic for both my tiredness and negative thoughts. In that way I couldn’t have received a better Christmas present!
Shumpty Speaks 