Nearly accepted

One thing that has been a big change in my life since coming here, besides the new cultural and linguistic immersion, is the increased precedence of my role as uncle. This is due, naturally, to the greater degree of proximity to my two neices and two nephews (ranging from 7 to 2 years old). As they are very cute and energetic and I'm proud to be related to them, I'll warn you now that they are likely to be a consistent theme through the course of these pages. I've been thinking of introducing them and the family as I go along, and since I have a recent story to tell about the youngest, I might as well start with her.

Being the youngest, everyone calls her MeiMei [妹妹] (sounds like 'may-may') which means 'little sister', though her real nickname is 'TangTang' (tahng-tahng) as she was born on the same day a typhoon hit the island. That typhoon was code-named 'HaiTang' [海棠], thus, 'TangTang' [棠棠]. Her real name is something else, which I can't even remember at the moment. I'll refer to her most often as MeiMei, for your information.

If you can't tell, she's quite adorable. Though like many kids her age (2), she suffers a strong case of separation anxiety when her mother has to be away, even for a minute or two. Ergo, she has constructed a tight circle of trusted confidants around her, among which (as I've observed) only her mother and grandmother and father and grandfather are members, as well as her 4-yr old brother (whom she generally idolizes). There is, further, a strict hierarchy even in this short list of select few. For instance, if her mother has to run errands to which MeiMei may not attend, only her grandmother may suitably fill the central role of comforter and pacifier. A long bout of fury and wailing is required, of course, before the accompanying feelings of loss and abandonment are fully appeased and the necessary shift of alignments may occur. Also, only the above few may pick her up, or do anything that would otherwise attend to her personal needs. Even then, it is only conducted either at her capricious whim or unarguable necessity. Her entertainment, however, is an important exception. This may be accomplished by anyone who attempts to suit her fancy, and she graciously bestows her utterly charming smile on all who succeed (which, thankfully, is pretty often).

I, having been present only a short period of her life, am obviously not among her closest trustees, though I have been working to gain a small amount of her affections through my attempts at entertainment. At dinner one night, I came surprisingly close to success. We were nearly finished eating, and I could see that MeiMei, sitting by her mother at the opposite side of the table, was getting bored. In apparent attempts to appease herself, she kept raising her hand and bringing it down quickly on top of the tray of her high chair. I devised a game where every time Meimei lifted her arm, I would corrsepondingly raise my head. She quickly caught on that the lifting of my head seemed to be under her control, like a puppet on a string. She found this highly amusing, naturally. She even succeeded in tricking me a couple of times by only pretending to lower her hand, but in fact raising it quickly instead, thus causing me to lower my head in contradiction to her completed action. This game was so successful that, to my profound astonishment, she asked her mother to move her high chair next to my seat at the table. Wow, I thought, I'm among the elite! -- even YT or Karrie would have difficulty making such a claim.

Dutifully, Caro got up and moved MeiMei in her highchair to accompany me. My elation, however, was short-lived, crushed as it was by MeiMei's immediate and vociferous wailing in objection to her mother's move back toward the other side of the table. MeiMei was quickly returned in her high chair to her original location, and it was obvious that I was no trusted confidant.

Despite the harsh rejection, I realize now that the role of entertainer is perhaps the best and most suitable anyway. Lots of rewarding smiles, but none of the dirty diapers. Cheers to Uncle-hood!
BB

NOTE: For the purposes of full disclosure, these photos were actually taken last year, when MeiMei was 1yr old, by someone other than myself. I think YT, or one of her sisters, took the photos. So, they don't reflect MeiMei's current age or, unfortunately, my own skills in photography. They do, however, reflect MeiMei herself, and she's still just as adorable.