I knew that I needed to find another thankful, one that was a little bit happier and light hearted. I was trying to think of the perfect thing to write about and my sister just so happened to tell me a story yesterday about my nephew, Kaleb, and it made me see why I am so thankful he is a part of my life.
Kaleb is one of the cutest five year olds that you will ever see. He is dark complected, has brown eyes and brown hair and is skinny as a rail. He actually looks nothing like my sister and though you can see a lot of my brother-in-law in him, he still could be someone else's child easily. When he was a baby my sister would take him to the grocery store with her, and she would constantly come home with stories of people asking her if he was actually her child. Some would even ask if she adopted him from another country or would ask what the ethnicity of his father was. People have even asked if he was Asian. To me, he looks part Native American because that is where his looks come from. My brother-in-law has Native American descent from his mother's side, and boy did Kaleb inherit that gene.
Though he is beautiful, that is not even close to the reason that I love him so much. He is hilarious. The things that come out of that kid's mouth are sometimes out of left field. When he was about 3 or 4 years old he became obsessed with animals. He would constantly tell us that the only thing he wanted for a pet was a baby shark but "it had to be the whale shark because it won't attack anybody." We would say, "What about a dog or cat buddy?" and he would say, "No, those are boring." He also has a tendency to say big words for his age, but he says them the wrong way. For example, one time he asked me, "If I shake this can of soda and open it, will it bisload?" When I asked what "bisloads" meant, he answered with, "You know, when stuff bisloads everywhere." Translation: bisloads=explodes, in case you were wondering. My family has given him the nickname of the "little old man" because sometimes the things that come out of his mouth, you would never expect from a five year old. Case in point: Every day after picking up her kids from school, my sister drives under an overpass on her way home. Apparently, under this overpass, several homeless people reside and they are there every single day. So seeing as though school has been in session for about three months, my sister's kids have observed this for well over 40 days. Yesterday, Kaleb states as they are passing the homeless, "Seriously? Begging for food again? Get a job."
When my sister told me this, I of course laughed. Then I shared it with Nick and we then laughed about it together. Then I thought, "I have to make Kaleb my next thing to be thankful for!" Before I heard this story, I wasn't in a terrible mood, but I was still a little hardened. But afterwards, I was suddenly soft again and really lighthearted. Kaleb makes me laugh, he always has. Anything that makes you laugh, you should be thankful for. Theres' the old and famous saying that, "laughter is the best medicine." Yesterday made me really understand the truth of that statement.
Since hearing of my sister-in-law's pregnancy, even though I have tried my best, my battle against negative thoughts has been tough. It has been difficult to honestly and completely feel grateful, because those negative thoughts were winning the battle. However, Kaleb turned it around with that one, hilarious statement. Laughter gave me the little bit of extra energy that I needed to finally resolve my inner conflict.
I am constantly amazed by how in some ways it hurts to be around my nieces or nephews, but at the same time, they're the only ones that can get me out of a self-pitying stupor. From now on, I am going to try to think about that when I think of my brother's future child. Though it hurts, he or she will undoubtedly become another blessing in my life.
"At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities." ~Jean Houston
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