Whoa!

My gosh...sorry folks, I just realized it's been a week+ since my last post. So, hello again. I did start writing a post, but it's a passionate subject for me, and I'm not quite there on putting things into words. Hopefully I'll get that one posted, someday.
In other news, I turn 28 years old tomorrow. So, I got that going for myself, which is nice.
I've never been one of those pre-planned life people, where I wanted to do this by age 25, and have 2.5 kids with a dog and a picket fence by age 30. Nothing like that. I have certain things that I would like out of life, but no time-table for them. I don't know where I thought I'd be in life at age 28, but I can tell you that things are not what I'd expected. That's not a bad thing. I'm elated that I own my own house, that I have a career-job, and of course, there's the wonderful family and friends. All-in-all, life is really good. I've got goals in front of me, things to strive for. But, most importantly, I've got wonderful people arround me to enjoy.

on a light-hearted note, I have a story about my nephew. I find it endearing...
Sunday evnening, Jack and I were slapping a small ball around the basement with our mini hockey sticks. We pretend skated and scored goals. Suddenly Jack stood still and pointed into the empty room next to us. "Tiger" he whispered, barely audible. His eyes were wide, he stood stone-still. I nelt down beside him and asked where the tiger was. He quietly explained "in there. Shhhh!" I whispered quietly, asking about the tiger. "Is it a friendly tiger?"
he slowly nodded his head yes, witout blinking or breaking his stare from the imaginary tiger.
"should we go say HI to the tiger?"
"no" came back his near silent whisper.
"what color is the tiger?"
"orange. shhhhh. he's watching."
we sat down on the floor, Jack wedged between my sprawled legs, laying back against me. we quietly sat there, half watching tv, half observing the tiger. Jack continuously reminded me to be quiet, the tiger was there.
Eventually we stood up, and I carried him into the other room to say hello to the tiger. Although Jack was not afraid, he was apprehensive about petting the tiger. Our fieldtrip lasted a minute or two, before he led me back to the family room. Again we sat on the floor, whispering about the tiger. Jack seemed completely convinced that a tiger was there. He seemed acutely aware of the tiger's dangerousness, without actually being scared. The two of us were so quiet and still, my sister asked what was going on. Jack and I huddled up on the floor together, until he declared the tiger had gone away.
It was a pure moment of imagination. He really believed the story he was telling. Whole heartedly, he thought a tiger was in the next room. What a brave little person. (Maybe he just needed some time to rest and snuggle up with Auntie Angie, or maybe he really likes tigers.)