When Uncle ‘Stin Comes To Town

We heart Uncle ‘Stin.

(He’s framily, you know.)

He stopped by for a visit this week.

Here’s what we learned while Uncle ‘Stin was around.

I met ‘Stin (a.k.a. Austin) when he was younger than my little Wilder is now.  Which makes me feel an odd combination of both sisterly and maternal affection for him.  (Is that misterly affection then?)  And of course I have been aware of ‘Stin’s age for, uh, all of his life.  But this trip I realized – he’s not a kid.  (And he probably has not been for a while, I know.)  He is, in fact, (to borrow his own phrase) a Transformer.  You know – more than meets the eye.  Austin is deep.  And thoughtful.  And I like talking to him.

The kids all loved having Uncle ‘Stin spin them around the yard at breakneck speeds.

He’s morphed into a pretty great babysitter.  (I once sat on Austin and now Austin can sit on my kids.  How funny the years can be.)  Piper Finn had a tick bite with a nasty little rash around it so I whisked her off to the doctor and ‘Stin volunteered to stay home with London, Mosely and Bergen.  (The three musketeers?  stooges?  hooligans?)  London declared ‘Stin’s reign a supreme success because they went on a treasure hunt for a hidden apple – with a real map!  During my absence (which seemed to grow painfully long waiting at the doctor’s office), ‘Stin was in charge of lunch and he escorted the gang to the lodge. At least three things happened there. 1. The kids discovered a copperhead.  (It was dead, but creepy nonetheless.  Particularly so when I received a photo of coiled copperhead on my phone while waiting for Piper’s doctor to go get his “infectious diseases book for a quick glance.”)    2. Austin successfully manuevered a cafeteria lunch experience with three kids by himself.  3. Afterward, Uncle ‘Stin allowed our kids to each have one beverage they have thus far avoided in life – soda.  Bergen plus Sunkist.  Imagine that.

Uncle ‘Stin is addicted to Monster energy drinks.

When ‘Stin throws one of my children up into the air – it freaks me out.

And the last thing we learned?

Well, we already knew that one, actually.

‘Stin is a great uncle.  And we are so glad he is framily.