If Wishes were Horses

I never had a rich uncle.

You know one of those wealthy fairytale uncles who come by laden with exorbitant gifts on special occasions? Yeah, never had one of those. Unfortunately mine were either too grumpy, too distant or just too far away to bother with their pesky lil nephews.

Always thought it was a pity that we never actually had such a close familial bond - which is why I do try to spoil my own niece and nephew every once in a while. Lucky them I know! Not only have they a doting granny who spoils them rotten, they also have an uncle who sneaks them candy.

So when received an unexpected bonus from work, I posed a question to Chatty Carmen.

Paul : Name a place and I'll take you there next year.

Since she's been a pretty good girl this year - with an exemplary report card, I figured that's highly deserving of a reward.


Time to travel!
Didn't fear that Carmen would ask for a ticket to wild outlandish places like the Moon, Narnia or even Oz since the cynical jade simply doesn't indulge in such childish fancy. With Carmen's obsession with the globe in my home office, she must have been thinking of someplace to go.

On my side, I was pretty much hoping that she'd decide on a place in the Continent since I haven't travelled that way in a really long while. Though I couldn't tell exactly what would interest her there, I knew I'd be able to find plenty to do in London. Or even Paris. Or even Rome.

But with an open ticket to pretty much anywhere, Carmen's simple answer surprised me. Very much to the dismay of her mother as well :)

Paul : So where would you want to go?
Carmen : Go home of course. Here!
Paul : You could go anywhere in the world and you want to be here?
Carmen : Yes!
Sister-in-law : Noooo!

Highly philosophical, I'm sure. And with her evident financial frugality, definitely her father's daughter!