May 26, 1998
JoJo's Notebook:
The ultimate compliment
So...I was playing with my best friend's niece and nephew a little over a year ago. At the time, I think Caitlin was probably about 3-1/2 and Thomas would've been 6. I guess I should point out that they call me "Joey." We'd been playing for several hours, and as I was getting ready to leave, we had one last round of spinning in the front yard. I'd hoist one of them onto my shoulder (like a sack of potatoes) and spin around. Lots and lots of laughter ensued. Thomas, at one point, stopped laughing just long enough to declare:
You're being the best Joey ever!!
Awwwww. He nearly broke my heart right then and there. I didn't know how I'd ever be able to live up to that. I could never top being the best Joey ever. I mean, how could I hope for such a thing?
Fast forward to this past weekend. We were celebrating Cait's birthday a wee bit early. She'll be 5 next week but lots of her aunts and uncles were gonna be in town for the holiday weekend (Memorial Day doncha know?) so we celebrated early. One of Caitlin's gifts was a Barbie (TM) board game of some sort. I stayed on to play a round of the game with Cait and Tom after everyone else had left. About 5 minutes into the game, she pointed to the gold ring on my finger and asked:
How come...if you're just a kid...you can wear a ring?
I laughed and allowed as how I probably was just a big kid. Then she asked if I was allowed to drive all by myself. I pointed out that I usually arrived at her house on my own and that yes, I am allowed to drive all by myself. Her eyes just widened in amazement.
That was not the end, however. Nope. As I was getting ready to leave, I said something about how I really needed to get going. She asked if my parents would be waiting for me. "No," I said, "I live by myself." The astonishment in her face was priceless.
The thing is, she knows I live alone and that I drive alone. But, somehow, during the course of the day (or maybe, over the course of my last few visits to her home) I'd become just one of the kids. I can't honestly imagine a better compliment from a five-year old.
Can you?
Signing off for now...
