Say it out Loud

Problem Child

I remember it like yesterday, it was a hot summer weekend. And like any other weekend I spend it with family so I was upstairs with my auntie and cousin. We were all having small talk and trying to cool down in the kitchen, everything was fine until we heard a one big “thump” and then that one thump turned into a bunch of little feet pounding on the stairs and up came the three kids running and yelling all over the place like a bunch of monkeys. The funniest thing was the horrified look on our faces thinking “Man this will be a long day”. LOL

That day had to be the most challenging ever because just when I thought things would get better it got even worse. But nothing could have been as challenging as getting my (sassy) niece Cherish to do a simple thing as drinking water, and like any other time I just wanted to give up and let her have her way, but to my surprise I decided to reason with her to make her drink it. We argued back and forth for a while, and I tried to tell her she could end up in the hospital if she didn’t drink water (like I did), so instead of just trying to scare her like I usually did, I made a deal with her, I said “If you drink a whole bottle of water you could drink as much water as your dad would let you” And at first she was resistant but after a while she agreed to it. And after she drank it all I gave her a can of soda.

That had to be the most proud moment of my life as an auntie because I actually got my niece to make a better choice that will probably benefit her more than she really thinks it will. Even if it is just a bottle of water it’s one more than she will have ever drank on her own. The most ironic part of it was that I was actually starting to sound like my mom, which made me realize how much I was maturing and growing up.

To most people this may seem like such a common part of life but to me it has so much more value. To most people it’s getting their license, or having their first boyfriend, or even taking their first trip. But for me it was being a better auntie and role model for my niece because the examples or mistakes I make, will impact the way my niece sees me and follow the things I do.