This Week One of My Favorite People Became One of Their Favorite People

My youngest brother Andy (coming from faraway L.A.) stayed with us this week for several days. He bonded big time with the girls. They jumped and climbed all over him. Jooge has not giggled so much ever. Avery instantly warmed up to him. He left for a few days and it was all they could talk about. "Where's Uncle Andy?" "When's Uncle Andy coming back?"

Andy is a great guy: tall, handsome, and hilarious. He brings the room nearly to tears with a funny walk or a dorky dance move. He wears clever t-shirts (the one in this picture he picked out from Threadless and it has a picture of a red bike under the Alamo) and hip tennis shoes and always a baseball cap, bill facing forward. He listens, he admires, he compliments, he trusts, he values, he gives, he cares.

We had some good times together this visit, getting coffee at our neighborhood coffee joint, picking berries with preschool friends, hanging out in the backyard playing basketball or watching the kids frolick in the sprinkler. He pulled the wagon when we went to the park. When we hit the evening farmers market for food he got up and boggied with the Jooge. We sat at the kitchen table and stuck endless foamies on endless sheets of construction paper, played goofy games with the microphone that records your voice, drove around, our backdrop Helen Reddy and Mickey Rooney singing songs from Pete's Dragon. We could have been eating rocks together and it would have been a good time.

My kids just loved having him here, just about as much as I did. I was so sad today when he and his fiance left, deep down in sad and I couldn't help but cry, just like I always do when he leaves. Jooge felt sad too and we hugged and she said, "I'm gonna miss our boy."