"Down with Wayne!" --The Far Side

This is Wayne and little Henekis at Camp.  Must be more than 25 years ago as Henekis is now 28 (???really???is that right???).  Anyway, Henekis is Shani's older sister.  They were born on the same day, January 26, nine years apart.  Shani and Henekis are very close and laugh together in that way that makes you wonder what the heck they are laughing about, but also fills your heart with gladness.  

But back to the picture.  Wayne is married to my mom, Cindy, and is also basically my dad's best friend.  They (Dad and Wayne) drink wine together and talk way too loud.  It's hard to know how to describe Wayne (but notice his digital watch; very trendsetting, for the day), but I love this picture as a description because whenever Wayne acts like an idiot or says something stupid, my mom likes to say, as a joke and with a shrug of her shoulders, "He's nice to the children."  And ain't that the truth.  Wayne (aka Waynie-boy) and I have battled for my mom's affections and argued about everything under the sun for as long as I can remember.  But it's true that he's nice to the children.  He's always been nice to me.  Even when we've disagreed (that's an understatement!) I've always felt respected and never doubted his love or loyalty to me, my mom or anyone else in my family.  Even my dad!  Waynie-boy is a pretty great and generous guy, despite the fact that he's a pisces.  He's one of those people you just know you can turn to whenever you need to. I could go on about my third parent, but then this would turn into one of those blogs where the blogger does nothing but say how lucky s/he is and makes you want to vomit.  But I really do love Wayne.  And I can't imagine a better step-parent.

Now this baby in his arms, Henekis, well I have a thing or two to say about her, but that can wait for another time.