The Gay Uncle had a chance to visit with his LA-based friends Kate and Dylan over the holiday season, and to see their charming little buggers Max (6) and Athena (3). The kids had spent the entire day out with their old babysitter Eleini–a campaign funded by the parents to give the adults some alone time–and when they returned to the apartment that evening, they were tired, wound up, and excited. The girl was thrilled that the sitter had given her a share of the per-diem her parents had provided for the day’s festivities, stuffing about ten bucks into her chihuahua-shaped purse. “I got some dollars!” she exclaimed. This reminded the G.U. of the story of this girl’s first word. Frequently mistaken by casual listeners, who would coo and smile, She’s saying Mommy Athena’s initial utterance was less familial and more…financial. Actually, Kate would correct them, She’s saying MONEY.
But more intriguing was the boy’s response to the day. “We took three trains!” he told the gathered adults.
“Great. Wow.” the grownups calmly stated, already into their second Ketel on the rocks.
“The M train, the A train, and the 6 train,” he said, even more enlivened.
“Three trains in one day,” Gunc said. “Incredible. Can you please pass the olives?”
The boy retreated to his room to remove his winter clothes, getting tangled in his thermal shirt in the process, but when he returned, he was still stuck on this subject. “I was telling you about the trains for a reason. Because we took the M train, which is for my name, the A train, which is for my name, and the 6 train, and I’m six.”
The Gay Uncle smiled, shamed, impressed, and reminded once again that it is only in actually listening to kids, that one can truly understand their intent. Sometimes what they have to say is more interesting than one’s drink.