I love kiddos. Love mine the most. Next, would have to be my
nieces and nephews. As of today, I’ve got 2 of each. On Ole Jus’s side of the
family we’ve got our oldest niece, Ronni who just began her second year of
college. She is the coolest college kid I know! For real. Much cooler than I
was when I was her age. She has two brothers coming up behind her; Dakota, 16
and Layne, 12. I was fortunate enough to visit those boys soon after their
births before they ever left the hospital. I
grew up watching them grow up. Those
three kids were a big part of the reason I knew with such certainty that I
wanted to be a mom someday to my own little nuggets. It just happened to be a bonus that the man I
decided to reproduce with was their mom’s brother. After we had been married for 8 years and
completed our own family, my brother Vance and his wife of 3 years gave me
another niece; Kinley, 2. And… later
this year in November they will welcome another baby girl!
Ronni & Layne
Dakota
Kinley & Audrey ;)
That little precious sometimes terror of a two year old
spent the night over at TT’s house a couple of weeks ago. (TeeTee-that’s
me...as in Aun-Tee. A lil on the controversial side, which is perfect for
someone like myself.) It’s always a
pleasure to have her in our home, but boy-howdy she wears me out! I am a little
out of practice with toddlers and the likes of other children who can’t reach
the light switches. I find myself in
desperate need of a nap when she leaves, although I’m not sure how that differs
from any other day.
Since she was only a few months old she has stayed at our
house overnight every now and then. At bedtime, Ole Jus does the hair brushin’
and TT puts her to bed. I sometimes rock
her, sway and hold her, or just sit and love on her, but I always sing to her. I’ve always sang songs like You are my
Sunshine, This Little Light of Mine, and Jesus Loves Me, but now that she has
developed an opinion and can vocalize it she prefers for me to sing BINGO. I’ve
never at any point in my life thought of BINGO as a bedtime lullaby, but who
can argue with a two year old? So there I go…”There was a farmer had a dog
and…”
We sat in my oversized chair in my bedroom that night in the
dark. She lay so nicely with her head on
my shoulder and her body draped across mine clutching to “lamby”, her must-have
sleep partner. What was perfectly comfortable to me suddenly became
uncomfortable to little Kinley. She rolled over, kicked her feet around and
flailed her arms trying to find a spot to relax and calm down enough to drift
off to sleep. Mind you, all this acrobatic activity is taking place on my
chest, belly and lap. What seemed like tens of minutes was more likely two, and
she finally settled down and breathed a little deeper. Sounds so sweet and
gentle, huh? Um, no. If I weren’t sitting in the dark I might have risked
waking her by trying to photo document the scene. She ended up on her back with
her ear right next to my ear. The best
way to describe her body position would be the term “spread eagle”. Her elbow was in my jugular and somehow I
still managed to have a “lamby leg” in my mouth. It was one of the most
uncomfortable positions to be in, but as mothers and aunties know…you can’t
move!
As I sat in the dark being thankful she was there and very
thankful she would go home the next day, I had a revelation…
Sometimes
when we are most uncomfortable that’s exactly where we are intended to be.
Years ago I learned that God doesn’t always call us to do
things within our comfort zone. In fact, he probably more often calls us to do
things we don’t want to do or feel unequipped to do. I’ve found the joy in answering his call or
following his commands can lead you to a place that is almost unbearable with
uncertainty and discomfort, but you can stop and know that you are exactly
where you are supposed to be. Thank God
for lessons from a precious niece…FROM THIS SIDE OF THIRTY.
