pizza angst

Sunday night dinner at my sister's...Annie and Sara are super-excited to see us. They barely touch dinner and then wait impatiently for Jeff and I to finish so the Fun Can Begin. Annie bounces up and down in the living room, chanting, "Uncle Debbie Uncle Debbie Uncle Debbie can you play with me? Uncle Debbie Uncle Debbie" (she's gotten into the habit of calling me that now, a private joke between us). Sara changes into her gym outfit and excitedly waits, declaring, "I'm going to TIRE YOU OUT, Uncle Jeff!"

I'm almost finished, and Annie comes up to stand by my chair. "Are you finished yet, Uncle Debbie?" she asks. "One more piece," I tell her, wanting to talk some more with Ruth. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Annie's eyes glued to the remaining piece of pizza on my plate, waiting patiently. Unable to take the pressure, I stop talking and shove the piece into my mouth.

Annie beams and grabs my hand, pulls me into the living room. As I find a comfortable spot on the couch, Annie is already thrusting a picture book into my hands. She clambers up beside me, leaning against me.

I like being an aunt. :-)

EIGHT DAYS 'til I leave for the UK. A brief panic on this side...my plane tickets hadn't arrived yet and the travel agent told me they were probably lost in the mail, that I would likely have to sign a bunch of forms and pay a admin fee for new ones to be issued. But they arrived yesterday (it took over a MONTH for them to get from Winnipeg to here; Canada Post is definitely having problems).