Uncle Knows Best

In my last post, I wrote a bit about my younger brother Jony, who will now be known as Uncle Jony. I thought it would be fitting to talk about the baby of the family, Isaac, or Uncle Isaac.

I am the oldest of the three, so Anaya will be First Niece. I was the first nephew in my family, and I remember being spoiled rotten my my aunts. I know by brothers will be extremely protective of their niece, and I know she will love her uncles. Which brings me to an incident I had with Uncle Isaac.

Exactly one year ago, I flew to Mexico to deal with some immigration issues.(You can read all about it here) I didn't know for sure how long I would be gone, so I was nervous about being away from my family. The night before I left, my brothers stopped by to say good bye. There was a somber mood in the air; my wife and I had spent most of the day packing, and we were exhausted. Just remembering the day makes me anxious.

I was trying my hardest to keep it together as I said good bye to my brothers. Jony was a senior in high school, and there was a chance that I would not be at his graduation. I gave them both a hug, and we were all talking when I heard Isaac say something. I didn't catch it so I told him to repeat himself. I was expecting some profound words as I was about to embark on my journey.

"Can I borrow your 360 while you're in Mexico?"

Um, ok. It was a funny moment and it definitely relieved the tension in the room. After I left my wife brought it over to him, and he had the xbox while I was in Mexico, and even after I came back he had it for a while. I'm not much of a gamer, but the xbox was a gift from my wife on our first Christmas, and I like having it around, so he gave it back. Reluctantly.

Fast-forward to December. We had recently found out about our pregnancy, and I wrote this deep, moving post about the sacrifices I was having to make as a new father. That post led to another conversation about the xbox. It was subtle, and not very effective. It took place on facebook chat and I wish I had the transcript.

He told me that he had read the post, and that he like it. I was pleasantly surprised because I didn't know he was reading it. I said thank you and not much else. A few seconds later a new message pops up, "Any other sacrifices?" I was confused by the question, but I quickly answered, "I'm sure there will be." I didn't think much of it until I realized he was talking about the xbox. Subtle.

Fast-forward once again to a few days ago. This time he attempts to use flattery, and  I have to admire his determination.Once again, I wish I had kept the transcript. He starts off by telling me that I am a mature adult, and that I'm going to be a father, and that I wouldn't have time to play video games. It was a nice try, but it didn't work. Instead I encouraged him to save up his money and buy his own; I told him he would appreciate it more that way.

These are a couple of that characters that will make Anaya's young life interesting. I'm sure that she will adore her uncles and they will love her too.