Chirky

I have a sister. Really, she is my step-sister. But for simplicity's sake, I
call her my sister. Her name is Deborah. Since I am her sister I am allowed the
privilege of calling her Deb. No one else may do this. Just me.

Deb has a son. He is 21 months old. He is my nephew. His name is Chase.

Now that we have established these facts...

Nearly a week ago, Deb and I took Chase to the Science Place at Fairpark in
Dallas. We arrived twenty minutes before it opened, during which we changed
Chase's diaper and every time he asked where we were going, we repeated to him, "We're going into THAT building," all the while pointing at the building so he could see it. And then approximately 48 seconds later, when he asked where we were going again, we would start over with the process of telling him and pointing to the building. I wasn't sure whether he has a short-term memory, or if this was the only question he could think to ask. Either way, he is super-adorable, and I didn't mind one speck.

Punctuality is not my strong point, though I like to convince myself that it is.
For example, if we are late going somewhere I'll usually blame it on Roger. Not
that it is his fault. I just like to blame him. Hmmm�perhaps I should start
owning up to my inability to get ANYWHERE on time. So, as you can imagine,
arriving twenty minutes early was uncommon for me and I wasn't quite sure what
to do with myself with all the extra time.

Left to myself, I generally find the quickest parking spot, throw myself out of
my car, and begin walking quickly to where I am supposed to be. Except when
other people are around, or when cars are driving by, because I'm one of those
people that actually cares what other people think and so I try to trick anyone
who could possibly be watching me into believing that I'm right where I'm
supposed to be at just the time I'm supposed to be, even though they're probably
not even paying any attention to me. If I'm alone, I haul it. Perhaps I could
even compete for the gold medal in Speed Walking. I think the security guys who
watch the cameras must get a kick out of watching me slow down, speed up, slow
down and speed back up again.

The Science Place finally opened, and we spent the day as follows:
Trying to convince Chase that the giant air-filled astronaut in the lobby
wouldn't attack him.
Watching Chase play with the floating objects in the water, SO THANKFUL for
the enormous plastic smock that covered him from neck to toe.
Rolling golf balls down various tracks, and watching where they landed.
Helping Chase recover from his fear of the sand by playing in it with him,
showing him that we were having a grand time and playing in there because WE
wanted to, not because we were trying to teach him how to like the sand.
Really, we were just exfoliating our feet. Sshhhh!
Blowing bubbles with these giant bubble-blowing contraptions.
Trying to convince Chase, again, that the giant air-filled astronaut wouldn't
hurt him, and that it was okay to wave at him: "Hi, Mr. Astronaut!
Hiiiiiieeeee!!!"
That was Saturday. Today is Thursday. After threatening Deb that I was going to
teach Chase at a very, very young age a certain type of art she FINALLY uploaded
the pictures and emailed them to me.

Now I know that I have leverage with her, and I will use this new power at every
opportune moment to get my way. Therefore behold, Chase, in all his cuteness,
attempting to blow a bubble: