Uncles

Uncles come in all shapes and sizes. They can be more like friends, or just older people you know. They can even be like an extra dad sometimes.

In centuries previous, a man would offer to marry the widow of his dead brother, to provide them with a stable man in the house and a male influence for the children.

You don’t hear of that much these days, which is a bit of a nod to the whole ‘women are independent and clever thinkers, likely smart enough to find someone else is that’s what they want’ movement.

These days, uncles are more likely to be simply the fathers of your cousins, and friends to you and your parents.

Our boy is pretty lucky with his uncles. I have three younger brothers, all of whom are obviously an uncle for the first time. They all adore their nephew and I know that they’ll each form a special bond with him of their own. As they have kids of their own in years to come, I’m sure we’ll all make sure we grow up with our kids being close and familiar with each other.

My wife’s sister’s husband is a damned fine uncle in his own right. He’s about 8 or so years older than me and quite a bit more practiced at the ‘responsible man’ thing than I. We get along really well with them and their kids, so it’ll be nice knowing that Leo has some family close by who’ll be there not only for big occasions, but for those random pop-ins and get-togethers as well.

Then there are the other uncles – the close family friends who are awarded the title on an honorary basis. We have a very special honorary uncle in my best friend, whom I have known since we were 12 and had undercuts and Doc Martens. Yes, that long!

‘Uncle Cam’ is just besotted with his nephew and will be a fantastic friend and grown-up in our boy’s life. He’ll be a regular part of our life and from a practical perspective, he and I have some quite different interests and specialties so that’ll give the boy more sources of knowledge and skills.

Our son is lucky to have such good men around him and I’m thankful for it.