I love my family. I truly do. They can work a good nerve down to the bone but that does not diminish the love. As you may or may not know, when I moved back to Texas from California (has it been six years already?!) I did so with the express purpose of securing a home large (and bougie) enough for me and BougieMom. We found a place with 4 bedrooms (one of which I use as my office), 2.5 baths, two separate living areas, great kitchen, minimal upkeep, energy efficient. We can spend as much or as little time together as we like. Sometimes it works well, other days we stick to our separate floors saying "Good Morning" by the coffee maker and that's that. Some days a little bit of family goes a long way.
That being said… BougieYoungerBro showed up on my doorstep in mid-December needing a place to stay to get his head together for a few weeks. He just moved out this past Friday… bless his heart. He and I have always had a bit of a "us against the world" mentality. Our whol family is very "cradle to grave/womb to tomb". So when his youngest child, three year old BougieNephew3 was in need of temporary daycare for a few weeks, I agree to watch him since I work from home. For a few weeks. Seven weeks later (this upcoming Monday), he's heading to an actual day care for the first time. I will miss having them both underfoot around but glad to see onward and upward progress out of both of them.
Here's some of what I learned:
- Grown folks really need their own bathrooms
- Three year olds do not like the word "nap" (though I came to love it)
- Grown men don't appreciate you telling them to "bust them ashy ankles"
- Everybody loves an ice cold juice box
- I may be a little more anal than I thought, an on again/off again control freak and a tinsy bit germaphobic
- Mothers at the park are hella-competitive (and my nephew wins every time)
- Three people with really strong personalities and opinions makes for interesting times.
- Girls today are named Madison, Savannah, Taylor and Georgianna – and they all fell in love with BougieNephew3
- It is absolutely true that men come home and want a beer, a plate of food and silence.
- Kids are great fun when you can send them home at night… same thing with younger brothers
So starting tomorrow, it's back to just BougieMom and me. It will be interesting going back to a house that says quiet, crayon-free with toilets seats down. Whatever shall I do? J Truthfully, the glee on BougieYoungerBro's face when he rolled out told me he was just as happy to be leaving as I was to see him go. It's all love though.
This week, I'll only be posting "shorts" (brief updates) because it's deadline time again. I have a short story called "White Mocha" due to my publisher by June 1.
As a grown-up now, I've lived with my folks, my Mom, my sister and my younger brother. Have not attempted living with my older brother, I suspect we'd come to blows or quit speaking all together. Tell me BougieLand, could/have you lived with family as a grown-up? How'd you do? Would you do it again? Do share…