We had a bit of a milestone yesterday - my older nephew has started to call me "Uncle Rocky" instead of just Uncle. It may not sound like a big deal, but the boys are not the most eloquent individuals just yet, and being able to string these two concepts together - that I am both his uncle and a person named Rocky - is quite a feat. And while I still love "just" being "Uncle", adding my name into the mix is an interesting step forward for sure.
It came about almost randomly. He had retrieved one of the customized Wonderbly books I had gotten them a few years ago. I had been hounded by ads for the product on Instagram for some time until I finally gave in and ordered some. So both he and his brother have books not just dedicated to them but books that "starred" them as the main characters. Anyway, he had brought the book out and got his mom to start reading it and she explained the dedication at the beginning and explained that I was Uncle Rocky.
I wish I had captured the look on his face as he processed this information, then flashed a pretty big grin as he tested out "Uncle Rocky" aloud. We were all surprised by this and laughed about it, but admittedly I wasn't sure if it was going to stick. But when I dropped him off at school this morning, he said "Goodbye Rocky Uncle" when prompted by his teacher to say goodbye to me. And after work, he called me "Uncle Rocky" again. I guess he has fully assimilated this new information into his head and I'll be interchangeably Uncle and Uncle Rocky moving forward.
The little one also parroted Uncle Rocky once to say goodbye at school, but he is a bit of a mimic at his age. I'm still waiting for him to call me that unprompted, but we'll see how that goes. I'll take what wins I can get for now - it all makes for an interesting and very memorable wrap-up for my trip.
I have a bit more packing to do tonight before my flight tomorrow. It's a noon schedule, but that still leaves me just enough time to bring the boys to school again before I head off to the airport. Then I'll go back to being their on-screen uncle, but we've managed to make the most of that experience over the years.
And while I'll miss my family here, I'm also quite excited to go home. Tomorrow sort of marks the lead-up to my birthday celebrations this year starting with some much-needed quality time with Tobie. I've already booked us tickets to watch Deadpool & Wolverine and Alien: Romulus back-to-back and we're scheduled to have some birthday board games with friends on Saturday. So yeah, it's looking pretty good indeed.
Cross your fingers and toes that my flight doesn't get delayed or something! I'm on a schedule hahaha
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