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.

We had a bit of a milestone this weekend – our boy’s first trip out of town! We took him up to northeast Victoria to my home town, to spend the weekend with his grandma, my mother.

We headed up the Friday after work and came back on the Monday. Saturday afternoon saw a few of Grandma’s friends come over and meet the boy. My mother was in her element, glowing as she showed off her first grandchild. It was pretty nice seeing her so happy and so proud, with the next generation of her family starting to grow.