Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it

I met two of my third cousins on my mum's side on the weekend.

Now, many people have heard me state my disgust and wrath towards children many times. I tend to group kids into the "I hate them all" category but I've come to realise that it's not really true.

There are roughly about....5 children I like - all related to me, but it's a good start!

Whenever children first meet me or I don't see them very often, they always tend to look at me, see a big fat girl, crazy hair, dots all over my face (you can see their little minds working that I must be diseased or something, because otherwise why would I be so speckly) and they just tend to stare, not want to come over to me or play with me at all.

I smile and pull faces and attack the colouring books and pages and as soon as they see that I can draw and colour in with the best of them, I'm in.

It also depends on the kid as well. There's different ways of getting in with boys to girls of course. Colouring in works for girls. Playing with trucks and cars (and stealing/hiding them) and being all manly and awesome work for the boys.

Anyway, back to what I wanted to say.

So, my third cousin  - mum's cousin Vicki's two year old - I met for the first time on saturday. Neiko. She's the cutest little blond child I've seen in a while. She stared at me for quite some time, trying to figure out who I was, how I fit into her world, why the hell I was in her living room. Then she hit me in the face with a ball, squealing in delight, and I was her new best friend.

As soon as that happened, she made me colour in and draw with her - but I wasn't allowed to draw love hearts or flowers...or fish...she scribbled all over them as soon as I did - you don't have to tell me twice (most of the time).

And then she tried to wipe me freckles off with a cotton ball.

My shitty never-gunna-tan skin is quite a draw for kids, not sure why.

I remember by cousin Aeryn when dad's whole family went to QLD for a holiday, she was sitting in the car with me...she was probably 5 at the time I think and she asked me why she didn't look like me, why she couldn't catch freckles, why I couldn't share them and that she wanted freckles to look like me.

I'm taking that as a compliment and not because she wanted to be able to dot-to-dot herself.
Anyway, I like certain kids.

I think I need someone I see on a regular basis to have kids (danni I'm looking at you) so that I can play with them then give them back at the end of the day. It might build up my tolerance to stupid, annoying, children.

But then again, it may make it worse.