Again??

I find myself a bit confused lately.  You see, I’m beginning to think I may actually like little kids.

Trust me, I’m more shocked at this than any of you are.  Twice this year, I’ve had the opportunity to hang out with friends or relatives that have small kids.  The first was when I visited my cousin Jenny and her crew in June, which I’ve written about before.  The second was last weekend visiting Geoff & Lee, with their two kids Savannah & Parker.  Once again, I had fun.

Heaven knows I’m not used to having kids climb on me.  Heck, I’m not even used to having kids around me.  Yet it seems like they take a liking to me.  Much like I did with Corin, I feel like I ended up with a new friend in Savannah.  We raced in the pool.  I let her stand on my shoulders and jump into the pool.  I would push her and her raft down to the deep end and she’d swim right back at me.  She’d grab a hold of my arm and I’d lift her out of the pool (and I’m not that strong).  I’d give her a push to help her swim down to the other end without taking a breath.  After a while, one of us was getting a little tired, so I finally got out.

But she didn’t just play.  She helped to set the table for dinner.  And after dinner, she wanted to play some more before it was time for her to go to bed.  When I finally got up on Sunday morning, she was there to greet me (which I wasn’t quite prepared for).  After breakfast, we played Uno (the Princess version), Old Maid, and Go Fish.

I could have sworn that little kids would avoid me like the plague.  This has not proven to be the case.  Quite the opposite, they’ve demonstrated no fear of me whatsoever.

How is it that I can be intimidating to adults, but kids between the ages of 4 and 7 find me huggable?  How is it that a person who generally would prefer to be by himself has enjoyed his experiences with people who are 1/9th to 1/5th of my age?

I think there’s a couple things in play here.  First, both Corin and Savannah were VERY well behaved.  When they were told to do something by either parent, they did it.  Second, they also both seemed to enjoy having a new audience.

I also don’t want anyone to get the impression that I fully understand what’s involved in having kids.  I know it’s a lot of work and requires a lot of energy.  My experience so far has been closer to playing uncle than anything.  I get to have fun and go home.  But this has been a far different experience than I would have expected.

I will say this whole thing has probably been good for me.  It’s good to get out of your routine every now and then.