Other People's Kids

I had the chance to visit my parents house yesterday, and was not surprised to find my 5 year old niece Kayla there. She is by far the most interesting child I know. She is a free thinker and often times can be found off in her own little world oblivious to all around her. She has this routine where she wakes from her nap, creeps to the top of the stairs and asks "Gramma..can I wake up now"? My parents do alot of babysitting for my sister, so like I said, it was no surprise to find her there. Immediately upon seeing me, she breaks into a huge grin and comes bounding down the stairs at break-neck speed, and launches herself into my arms from about 40 feet away. Kayla is a shy girl at first, but once you get her talking....I pity you. She can ramble with the best of them, and can tell you what all her "dollies" have been up to since you last saw her. She has at last count around 10 million "dollies". She knows all their names, and she can remember exactly who gave them to her. She can tell you their back stories, their work history, and even their birthdays, but she cannot remember to flush the toilet. Like I said...an interesting child.

Kayla has a 7 year old brother named Jonathan. The child was born at about 30 lbs and has since grown into most of it. When he was a baby, he was a large head with stubby little legs. I still to this day call him "head". He takes this ribbing good naturedly and has even learned to kid himself about his abnormally large head, going so far as to inform Grandma that "I hope the t-shirt will fit over my head". He is a very intelligent, well spoken, and even keeled young man. For some of what he has been through, he is well adjusted. And he is an entrepeneur in the making. If you promise him a nickel for pulling weeds, you had better have the cash. He doesn't forget! And he does nothing for free. What ever happened to the free child labour of our youth? If you offer him a quarter for picking up apples, he will mull it over and respond with "Hmmm...how about 3 quarters"? I see alot of myself in him...the intelligence, the zest for life, the adventurous side, and the ability to talk to anyone. My heart aches for the little guy sometimes. His mother and father are divorced, and although his father is an idiot, he still wants a father figure in his life but has none.

Kayla and Jon are your typical rowdy, never listen, wild, loving kids. They can get into trouble with the best of them. I am proud to say that some of the trouble they get into is of my doing ( I put them up to alot of "deeds"). I want to test their loyalty is all...I swear. They fight like other kids. They loooove to be tickled by Uncle Brandon. They are avid Harry Potter fans, and can recite the movies verbatim. Jonathan is always spelling words for me, and Kayla is learning to read. Yesterday she informed she could read a whole book by herself. I thought that to be wonderful and challenged her to read to me. Grabbing a book, she climbed onto my lap and proceeded to read to me . " Can..you..find..the..duck.."? "Can..you..find..the..dog"? Etc, Etc. At this point I realised that the book she was reading was one she had memorized. So I decided to mix things up with her, and turned to the back cover and asked her to read it to me. She looked at me with big brown eyes, and said " I can't, it's in Spanish". I smiled at her, kissed the top of her head and said "Good...Uncle Brandon knows Spanish too". She looked to Gramma for help, and got none. For the next thrity minutes we worked over the phrase in the back of the book. It turns out it was in English, and Kayla has now memorized the back cover as well as the entire inside of that book. She won't be fooled next time.

Being typical children, there is a rivalry going on there as well. They are always vying for affection, attention, and favor from anyone they can. They haven't yet realised they are both equally loved. Now being only 5, and weighing roughly the same as a bag of carrots, Kayla is a feisty one. She takes no guff, and never backs down. She has been a growler since she was a baby. Always growling when she doesn't get her way. She has problem smacking the snot out of Jon if he crosses her (which he does with great frequency).

Jonathan is learning grown-up things. He loves helping his Mother cook, and has recently discovered showering versus bathing. He thinks he is the king now that he can shower at Grammas and Grampas house. My parents house has two bathrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs. As with most if not all households the water pressure is never right. If you are taking a shower and someone flushes...well you know. Jon has learned this. He has learned by example. He has been scalded more than once, and always by Kayla. Here is the conversation that took place recently....

Jon: (storming up the stairs in a towel) " Danggit Kayla, I told you not to the flush the toilet when I'm in the shower".

Kayla: "Why? Does it get on you when I do"?

Jon: "No"

Kayla ( rather sadly) "Oh"

Devious she is. And did I mention free-spirited? My Dad's favorite time of the week is Fridays. He picks Kayla up from daycare. As he sits in the truck waiting for her to return from school, he watches the line of kids trudging along, looking as if it is their last day on earth. And then there's Kayla....bopping and bouncing and skipping along. Upon seeing Grampa's truck she waves excitedly and yells "Hi, Grampa", to which all the children trundling along yell in unison "Hi, Grampa". Kids....gotta love em.

I want to get serious for a minute. This last week another person was arrested in what I consider utter stupidity. Who in their right mind would take a two year child to a midnight showing of a movie and leave them un-attended in the car? What kind of brain dead moron allowed this person to be a parent? How and why are these people still re-populating? I'm not a parent and even I know that what he did is inexcusable and wrong. If you have plans, leave your child where they can be watched over. If a movie is more important than your child, don't have children.

There has been a great uprising and public outcry for the woman in Centreville who "forgot" her child in a car for a few hours resulting in the childs death. I honestly feel she was not treated fairly. Her negligent actions resulted in the death of her child. She recieves a slap on the hand and a stern talking to????? Please!! Had the child been taken and ended in the same fate, the person responsible would have been sent to prison. Why is it that you can be responsible enough to pro-create, but not be held responsible when you KNOWINGLY put your child in harms way? I am both disgusted and saddened whenever I read a story like this in the paper or hear it on the news. I understand that people get busy and often times forgetful. I also understand that life can be hectic. But to forget your child for three hours AFTER you bring in groceries?? To visit a friend and not have them ask you "Where's the new baby"? Something is wrong in todays society when children are dying due to neglect and stupidity. The most wonderful thing about the country we live in is this...free speech. On that note, I want to express my opinion. I hope the parents of these children are haunted to the end of their days. I hope everyday is a hell to them. I hope they look at happy kids playing and think "that could've been me".

I apologize if my venting at the end offended or hurt anyone. I merely wanted to express my opinions and beliefs. I am done ranting now. I am calm. I am on my way to a family BBQ where I plan on teasing my niece and nephew until they are exhausted and go to bed knowing how much they are loved. I wish you all the very best 24th. I wish you safety and happiness. If after reading this, you gather your children and hug/kiss them...very well indeed. Peace be with you all, and thank you for who you are.

Brandon