Weekend Kids

I wonder if one’s reaction to nephews and nieces would be evidence on how one would treat one’s own kids?

My 4-year old niece hated me at first glance. No matter what I do to cajole her for a kiss or for even just a smile, she would pinch her eyebrows together and look at me menacingly. Every time I talk to her, she shouts “FINE!” and storms out of the room. She even declared me “not allowed”. I don’t even know what I did to deserve such hostility but she does this only to me. While everybody would laugh at this, I did not find it amusing. After all I never get this kind of behavior from my other older nieces and nephews. It bugged me big time. She finally saw me having a serious discussion with another nephew about Sponge Bob Squarepants. While my nephew and I were both laughing hysterically at SBS’s antics, the little princess suddenly decided I was ok and came over and started a conversation, saying my name sooo nicely as if we weren’t bitter enemies for the last two days. I asked her, “Are we friends now?” She nodded her head and gave me a cute wink. Was tempted to shout “FINE!” but opted to convey my bitterness to strangling the stuffed dog.

Now that’s not all. I also was witness to teenage crying – one because of a sad anime story, another was because of the ‘bad” ending to the series One-Tree Hill. Now both teenage girls have been my confidant to silly crushes and girlfriend-clashes. We also had long conversations about TV series and the various characters that influence their daily lives. But for girls, who were only allowed to watch TV on non-school night, I didn’t realize that such TV tragedies will resort them to running to the bathroom, eyes all red. To be fair, I have to admit that I do cry in movies, bawl at sad TV series, but I do get over it before the credits roll up. This was new to me. O- kaaay … so shit happens.

I was also hit on the head by a tennis ball – maybe because it looked hard enough to bounce on. I had to hide behind posts with cousins to bite into crispy chips because it was not allowed before lunch. I had to surrender myself to a couple of wet slobbering kisses and life-threatening hugs. And had to endure Sponge Bob Squarepants rewinded and played over and over and over again while Keanu Reeves and Johnny Depp await in the sidelines.

Lastly, I had the opportunity to carry my cousin’s baby - a tiny delicate creature that seldom cries and allows everyone to hold him. So I carried him around till my arms got tired, which was not very long. I wonder how super moms manage that much weight. We had talks that nobody could ever understand. It was also so easy to amuse him. Just talk gibberish and make a fool of yourself and you’ll be rewarded with a wide gurgling laugh. I think that was the high-light of my day - gurgling laughs and toothless smiles.