If you talk with me for more than five minutes, there are 2 things that you'll very quickly find out:
1) I drink a lot of coffee. (You'll learn this because I probably have a coffee cup in my hand while we talk.)
2) My nieces and nephews, all 6 1/2 (very, very, soon to be 7 when Will decides to grace us with his presence) of them, mean the world to me.
We had a great week last week at the Anderson household; were able to almost all be together for a few days (which is very difficult when you're talking 9 adults and 6 kids.) It was full of loudness, laughter, and just great family bonding time.
But it was also full of life lessons for me, as is often the case when I'm with the nieces and nephews. It always happens in the most simple things. And this time it came compliments of Emma, or Eminemers, as well call her.
We were all sitting outside, and I had one of my favorite accessories on; a scarf. The kids were playing and carrying on, when suddenly Emma comes over to me, sits down on my lap, takes the scarf off of me, and puts it on herself, yelling "Look, I'm Aunt Licia (Lee-sha)!" (The only people who call me that are family, so don't get any ideas.)
And the lesson didn't even hit me full force at first. I was just thinking, awe. I'm such a cool aunt and these kids think I'm awesome! But then as she went back to the swings with my scarf still on, and proudly exclaiming that she was Aunt Licia, my thoughts took a more serious turn. Do I really want her to be me? Do I want to her to emulate my life when she's 23? Do I want her to grow up and be just like me?
And the resounding answer, of course, was no. There's a lot of crap in my life that I hope my nieces and nephews never have in their lives. There are a lot of moments I wish I could take back in my teen and adult years that I hope my nieces and nephews never choose.
And that, of course, led to the realization that these kids are watching me. They're watching what I'm saying, and where I'm going, and what I'm doing, and how I'm talking. And while they aren't old enough to be on social media, all the teens that I've built relationships with at church are. Which I've kind of already addressed this issue in my social media post.
But the fact is, somebody's eyes are always watching. What are they seeing? Are they seeing me be two-faced? Am I acting one way around certain people and then another around other people? Am I being the kind of person I want my nieces and nephews to strive to be?
Look at your life. Somebody's eyes are watching. What are they seeing?
Striving to be someone worth looking up to,
AA
