April 04, 2005
And Speaking of Nephews...
Older Sister's son is almost six. He has, quite literally, grown up at Brookfield Zoo, as O.S. and her husband are docents (trained, educated volunteers) there. He loves animals and knows more about them than I do,... except how to get his dog to stop annoying him.
As an Easter present, Nephew got to pick out two hermit crabs at the pet store. But hermit crabs have come a long way since I was a kid. They now come with man-made designer shells! It's so kewl! Hermit crabs as home decor! Nephew picked a Blue's Clues one, and one with a psychedelic, purple design on it.
So my brother-in-law comes home from work one day and has the following conversation with Nephew:
B.I.L.: So, did you take out the hermit crabs and play with them today?
Nephew: Yeah! And I built them a corral!
B.I.L.: Cool! Did you race them?
Nephew: No. (pause) I would win, anyway.
I can just hear the thoughts in his head, like, "Gosh, Dad is so stupid. My legs are way longer than theirs!"