Antagonists

I often wonder if my sister worries that I get irritated when Uncle A (her hubby) bothers my sons. But I don’t. Not anymore. Not since I had a revelation after our last visit to her house. I now realize that there is a benefit to, and a reason for, his (and other antagonists’) madness. He is in my sons’ lives to make sure they don’t grow up sissies. With all his razzin’, my kids will be used to being picked on and hopefully will not be as affected by classmate’s teasings later on. The real world definitely has its share of not-so-nice people and I am glad my children can experience some frustration in perfect safety. I also know that this is Uncle A's way of showing that he likes you. And that makes me feel pretty good, to know that he truly enjoys playing with my kids. Now, don't get the wrong idea- A does not, in any way, hurt my kids- just messes with them. As you can see, AW is not yet used to it. But Hayden is. He enjoys it. Now that he's a little older. And one other benefit to his razzin' the kids is that we get to see touching scenes like this.... ...of HL and Aunt K protecting little AW. HL did this totally of his own volition and it almost brought tears to my eyes. AW was on my lap, clearly upset by having frosting smeared on his face. HL came and stood directly in front of his little brother with his arms stretched wide, proclaiming "you can't get him now!" Very touching and reassuring.