family matters

My brother Rob has lived in the States for over ten years, which means that Sage had never met him until our trip to the States last October.

We stayed at my mother's house; and when Rob drove down to visit us on our first weekend there, Grandma tried to prepare Sage for meeting her then-unknown uncle by explaining how he was related to people Sagey already knew.

"Uncle Rob is your mommy's brother," she tried first. "Mommy is Uncle Rob's sister."

"Mommy is not a sister," Sage said with stubborn conviction. "Mommy is a mommy."

After further attempts at elucidation, Sage was willing to concede that Mommy is a mother, and Grandma is Mommy's mother, but it was still inconceivable to her that Mommy could be anyone's sister while also being a mother and a daughter at the same time.

"Okay," my mom tried changing tack, "think of it this way: Uncle Rob is Uncle Richard's brother. You know Uncle Richard, right? He visits you all the time in Manila, and he's Mommy's brother, too."

Sage looked at her maternal grandmother in amazement. "You know my Uncle Richard!?"