12:40 a.m. | 2005-04-09 Toy Story. So, I called DearestSister (DS) today about what I should bring GreatNephew (GN) for a Christmas gift for Christmas-in-July in June. Unfortunately, I�ve been delaying the call so I ended up calling her at work. When she was busy. Here�s some of that. (DS Employee:) Hello, thanks for calling DSWorkPlace. (CI:) Is DS there? (DSE:) Yes. May I tell her who�s calling? (CI:) Sure. Cruel-Irony. (DSE:) (Hesitant because I didn�t further identify myself.) Cruel-Irony? (DS:) (I actually heard her snatch the phone away.) Hey Girlie! What�s up? (CI:) Sorry to bother you at work � I know you�re busy � but hey, did you see that I got GN for Christmas-in-July?! (That means I �drew� GN�s name for Christmas so I get to bring him a gift. I didn�t actually �get� him, nor will I receive him as a gift at Christmas-in-July. Just to be clear. Try to keep up, people.) (DS:) Yeah, I did. I can�t believe that no one told me how INCREDIBLE it is to be a grandma. It�s so great� (CI:) Are EldestNephew (EN: DS�s son and GN�s father) and GN living with you? (DS:) I wish. No. EN moved out several months before he was awarded custody of GN. Oh, but GN is so cute! He recognizes me and runs for hugs. It�s so great! (CI:) So, what does GN �want� for Christmas? (DS:) Toys. Definitely toys. (CI:) Toys? (Every child I know has a gazillion-bazillion toys; it�s not normally an issue.) (DS:) Yes. I�ll tell EN to call you about specifics, but GN doesn�t have any toys. We�ve been trying to fill that gap, but that�s mostly what he needs. (CI:) Seriously? Toys? (DS:) Seriously. Educational toys. (CI:) Educational toys? (Between DS and I, I�m the academic. Plus, as she well knows, �educational toys� includes text books and whatnot in my world.) (DS:) Not �educational� in a traditional sense� just he�ll be 18 months at Christmas-in-July so he needs those type of toys then. Like 18 to 24 months. Large motor skills type of stuff. But, I�ll have EN call you. Oh CI, he�s so cute! And, he knows who I am. That I�m his grandma! It took some adjusting, but he seems to know that he�s home. Really home. (CI:) I can�t wait to meet him! (I could hear people calling for her about that time.) Hey, I�ll let you go� well, in a minute. I did call you for a different reason (frantically scanning my memory) and um, oh yeah, Happy Birthday! Actually, I meant to call you last week to say that. (DS:) Thanks! I gotta go. I did mean to call her to wish her a Happy Birthday (42), but I also was really excited that I got GN for Christmas-in-July. Then, I was thrown by the whole toy thing. I think both DS and I think it�s really sad when a child needs toys. That need threw me for a loop. We didn�t have a lot of toys growing up and the ones that we did have? Not the ones we wanted. But we didn�t lack because of it. Mostly, we were sent outside to play because �nature provides all the toys you�ll ever need�. And well, nature did suffice I must say. Imagination played a huge part in all of that, but I�m sure you get my drift. Some people might say that Barbie is not made of twigs � and I�ll admit that sticks don�t produce bendable knees � but when you work at it? Yeah, you can totally make a Barbie out of few twigs and several marshmallows. Okay, I�m off point now. Sorry, a little frolic and detour there. So, my point? GN is a little more than a year old and needs toys. That seems odd to me. Toys are plentiful and cheap nowadays so I don�t know why a child would not have them. Unless � and here�s my theory � there had been a lack of nurturing. To put it kindly. However, now that EN has custody, toys are being bestowed upon GN. I�m all for that. And, I can�t wait to meet him. I have to say that I truly admire EN (23) who�s decided to adopt this child, who is not related to him in any way outside of a heart connection, in order to give him a chance and because he loves him. I goes to show you that you never know who�ll keep going when the going gets tough. your thoughts? seed flower