We currently have 2 nephews (ages 6 and 9 months) and 1 niece (almost 3). We also have a few other kids in our lives that we love and consider pseudo nephews and nieces. However, I should note, that just about any young kid, related or not, that is introduced to Evan immediately understands the Uncle Evan Effect (UEE). Kids are quickly drawn into the UEE as soon as they enter in a 10 foot radius of Uncle Evan. They come to him with toys, with legos to build, video games to play, to hear his stories and sometimes they just come to him in order to soak up his awesomeness. :) Perhaps it is the kid in Evan that allows him so easily to play with kids of all ages for hours at a time. He will conjure up various scenarios of make-believe, find interesting ways to play with toys that the kids would usually call boring and he will entertain the child for hours. Naturally, all this playtime enables children to fall in love with Uncle Evan right away. They will ignore everyone else in the room, other kids and yes, sometimes, even candy can't capture their attention.
Sometimes the UEE makes Evan the babysitter at family functions. While after a few hours Uncle Evan needs a break, he doesn't rest long before he's entertaining the kids again. I think that the UEE is wonderful and Evan certainly deserves all the love and adoration from these kids, but I can't help but be a little jealous. Here are some things that make me wish the UEE was able to be bottled and sold for consumption:-On Sunday evenings, Evan goes to his family's house for dinner and I (along with my siblings, nephews and niece) go to my dad's for dinner. Not a Sunday goes by when I'm not asked multiple times by both my niece and nephew, "Where is Uncle Evan?" And then when I tell them he's with his family, they reply, "Well, why?" And often the follow up is "Will he come over next time?" or "When will I see him again?". Forget that I'm awesome and want to play with them just as much, I just simply can't compete with the UEE.
-On a recent shopping trip with my sister, niece and of course, Uncle Evan, my niece was only concerned with Uncle Evan's attention. Us girls were shopping for shoes when Evan went off to look at video games. The second my niece noticed that he was gone, she was searching the aisles for him and constantly asking "Where is Evan?" Even though I answered her question a few times, she would not be satisfied until she actually saw him. When we finally left the shoe store and went to meet up with Evan, she took my hand and was walking with a mission in order to find Evan again! Thank goodness he wasn't far. :)
We are all so very lucky to have Evan in our lives and the kids are even luckier. They have a great uncle who absolutely loves them and can't get enough of them. If you are ever able to see the magic between Evan and the kids you will truly understand the wonderment of the Uncle Evan Effect.
Happy Birthday, Uncle Evan!
