#I'm TIRED I don't WANNA scoop poop

[ghostsinthecellar]

I always leave the litterboxes until the last part of my day and I always regret it

[anneimaginesundertale]

Oh oh oh, I got a cute one! Someday and Sansy, think Sansy would practice his routine with her ^-^

Sansy poked his head into the playroom and grinned. Someday had set up all the stuffed animals in rows and was standing in front of them as if she was on a stage. His niece had put on a big blue jacket and pink fluffy slippers, and she had a beanie on her little skull.

"Thank you," she said to her plush audience. "Telling all my jokes makes me really tired, so I have to go take a big long nap now! Yaaaay!"

Sansy clapped his hands as Someday took a bow. "Sorry I missed the show," he said, walking into the room. "Sounded like you had a real good set there."

"Uncle Sansy!" All show-based weariness forgotten, the little girl rushed into her uncle's arms. She hugged him tightly and beamed up at him. "I'm you!" she said. "I did all your jokes!"

"Oh well now I'm really sorry I missed it," Sansy said, hugging her back. "Would you do it again for me?"

"Maybe later," she said, slumping against him. "I'm tired. But I didn't wanna take a nap with the twins, so Mama said play quiet."

"I see." He scooped her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. At four, she was just starting to get really tall, her long legs so similar to her daddy's. "You think I could do a show for you then?" he asked. "I got some new material I need to test on my best critic."

"Yeah, I guess we can do that," she said, nestling her head against his shoulder. "You put me down in the front row."

"As you wish, cher." He cuddled her for a moment and carefully picked his way across the room to put her in the front row of the plushies, moving a few of them to new seats to accomodate the guest of honor. Someday sat down criss cross and pushed her pink glasses up her nasal bone.

"I'm ready for the show!" she declared.

Sansy took his spot on the "stage". "Hey everybody, it's Sansy!"

"Yaaaay! Hi Sansy!" Someday clapped and Sansy gave a little bow.

"So glad to be here in the Playroom, doin' the naptime show. I heard we got a very special guest in the audience this afternoon -- my oldest niece, Miss Someday Joy Gaster! This little lady is four years old and already a comedian. Her daddy asked me how she got so good and I told him, bro, it's obvious. She inherited your funny bones!"

Someday (and the stuffed audience) cheered and clapped.

Sansy continued. "I'm tellin' ya, folks, this little girl gives me my best material. She is one humerus little lady, and when she's with me, she always wants to practice jokes. She'll tell me knock knock jokes. She goes, Knock knock!" He pretended to knock. "I say, Who's there? I'm expecting somethin' silly and little kiddish, like Poop, but this girl is too good for preschool jokes! She goes, Someday. Now folks, that's her own name. I think, oh, maybe she forgot how these jokes go. Nope. I go, Someday who? And folks, this little girl--my favorite four year old in the whole wide world--she goes, Someday my prince will come! And she sings it! In a beautiful little voice. I ain't even doin' it justice here. And I just fall over laughing."

In the audience, someone had fallen over. Big Mr. Ted, who had been seated next to Someday, was flat on his fluffy face. Sansy watched Someday lay down next to him, on her side so she could still see him. Her sockets were starting to droop.

Sansy kept going. "I got so many Someday stories," he said. "She comes home from pre-k one day and tells me another new joke. She says, Why did the chicken cross the road? I say, I dunno, baby. To get to the other side? She says, No! No, Uncle! He crossed the road to get to his uncle's house to hear him be silly. I say, baby, don't you ever cross the road to get hear me being silly. She looks at me and she goes, Oh, I don't hafta cross the road. You be silly right in my house! All day long. And I'm on the floor laughing again."

Someday's sockets were closed. Big Mr. Ted was doing double duty as a pillow. Sansy lowered his voice. "That's all the time we got today, folks. Somebody's gotta take a big ol' nap. Actually, two somebodies. Thank you. You been a great crowd."

He took a little bow that turned turned into a crouch. Carefully, he scooped up Someday and Mr. Ted. She cuddled against his chest. "All done?" she mumbled.

"All done, sweet girl. You're my best audience." He kissed her little forehead. "You wanna nap in your room?"

"I wan' your bed."

"You got it, sweetheart."

"You nap too?"

"I sure will." He carried her out of the playroom to his bedroom. It was neater than it used to be. Laundry in the hamper, trash in the trashcan. Most of the mess was the kids' toys, which had migrated into his room (and everywhere else in the house). He lay down on the bed with Someday, letting the little girl cuddle against him.

From this position, he could see his wall of sticky notes. In the very center of it was a big poster-sized sticky note (courtesy of Anne's classroom). On it was a crayon masterpiece depicting a lady in purple, a tall skeleton with glasses, a short skeleton in a blue jacket and a beanie, and three little skeletons. Among the hearts and stars drawn around it were two words, written in the shaky hand of a precocious pre-kindergartener. My family. Sansy's soul felt like it was going to explode with happiness as he drifted off to sleep with his little niece in his arms.