Many people don't know that my nephew/brother has been living with me for the past month. Tonight I was cutting his hair and found it interesting that about 18 months after he came into this world I found myself playing a role as his mother. Now 16 years later I am doing the same thing again.
He and his younger brother came to live with my parents, sister, and I my junior year in high school. My sister and I took care of most of the parenting as my mom was a nurse working long hours and dad had to be at school early and he often worked laying carpet after school. My sister and I drove them to daycare and often picked them up after basketball and volleyball practices in the evenings. I remember coming home late from a basketball trip one night around two in the morning to one of the boys crying. My brother who was preparing to leave on his mission was up trying to get him calmed down but as soon as I got home he handed him over and went to bed. That was my first experience trying to get a screaming child to sleep. After tears on both our parts he finally went to bed.
As I think back I don't know that we really had a room for my nephews to sleep in. They always ended up in my bed anyway. One of them beside me and the other down at my feet. No wonder I figured out how to fit a queen sized bed onto my twin bed frame. I loved taking care of those boys and don't recall feeling overburdened as a teen with the extra responsibility.
His younger brother lived with us two years ago for four months and now he is living with us. It is hard to motivate a teenager to finish his diploma and do chores around the house. Its not really fair to jump into it but Jeremy and I are probably better equipped than most people would be. We are learning and I hope we can help him in the transition to living on his own.
