The favorite uncle

“It was just a normal day of playing outside and doing yard work, nothing special.” That’s how Jamie Nelson describes the snapshot she took of her husband being pushed on a child’s scooter by their sons and nephew. She can’t remember when it was taken, just that it’s “about a year old.”

The picture captures just how life is for the Nelsons, she says.

Her sister, Jennifer Crecelius, lives a few blocks away from their home on Twelfth Street. And their homes are full of family.

“We’re a really close family,” she says. “We really take time to enjoy each other. Sometimes I think we don’t see a lot of people outside the family because we’re always together, being goofy.”

Nelson is from Oak Cliff and graduated from Tyler Street Christian Academy, where her kids, 7-year-old Jerry and 4-yearold Jack, go to school, along with 4-year-old cousin Andrew. She says the generational thing is common at that school.

“It’s really weird seeing your old high school friends in the morning rushing to get their kids to school,” she says.

In the picture, Jerry, Jack and Andrew push Nelson’s husband, Jeromy, whose expression is a mix of intensity and silliness.

It’s her favorite picture of him because it personifies what a wonderful father and uncle he is, she says.

“He always makes us laugh,” she says.