Xs and Os



My 2-year-old niece, Cora, learned to say “I love you” today. She called to tell me so. “I. Love. You. Aunt. Wobin” she said, and then she said it again, louder.
Cora’s sweet voice puts me in the best mood; it absolutely lights up my world, no matter how stressful my day’s been. The problem is that every time I hang up the phone with her, I cry. Every single time. It’s becoming a problem.
But anyway, right before the tears start to flow, she does this thing where, before she hands the phone back to my sister, she says “Bye!” and then kisses the receiver and hugs it. The girl gives me a hug and a kiss over the phone! She’s never even been prompted to do so; it’s just something she’s learned -- when you say goodbye to someone in my family, they get a hug and a kiss.
It’s a distant second to the real thing, but I love listening to her hug me. You can hear the muffled noises of her squeezing the phone, and she usually adds a little “ohhhmmmm” as she squeezes. To die for.
And then, the waterworks.

Bonus: Here are a couple of pics of Cora and her brother, Zayvius (the blond one) and their cousin, Tesher, taken last week when my older sister Kielynn and Tesher were in NY. Oh, how I wish I could have joined them.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pretty nice looking family you got there. Thanks for sharing. (And move a little closer so you can at least see two of them more often :)

Squiggle said...

Those photos are awesome! I´m sorry I missed out on the family event too.

Robyn said...

Believe me, Sheil, I daydream about moving closer every day.
Alas, for now, they're only dreams.