Sometimes, for whatever reason, babies are raised by more than their two parents. Because of this, children end up becoming spoiled with love and attention.
About two years ago, my mother gave birth again, therefore, I have a brother that I’m much older than. It may seem a little odd for people that aren’t familiar with this type of sibling arrangement, but it has worked out pleasantly for my mother and for me. My mother gets the benefit of a live-in babysitter, and I get the experience of handling a baby. It makes me laugh to think that I have more childcare experience than my 18 year old cousin, who was scared to hold my brother.
The main reason that I recognize myself his grandmother instead of his mother is the amount of time I spend with him. Mothers have to deal with their children throughout the night, waking up constantly to feed them and/or play with them. As a teenager, I don’t have that responsibility. I’m not even disturbed by his cries because I sleep on a different floor than he does. In addition to this, I am also able to hand him off to my dad or my mom when I have an excess of homework. Mothers don’t have that option. (They could hire a babysitter, but for the night?)
Another major perk is that I still get the same affection from him. Sometimes, because I’m home more often, he favors me over my dad (or maybe it’s just that I have the milk that he wants ^_^). He affectionately calls me when he wakes up from naps(“姐姐!” he screams as I write this, meaning older sister in chinese), learns the words that I teach him, and accepts that I’m putting him to sleep for this nap.
I could just be romanticizing motherhood, or even grand-motherhood, but I do find pleasures in it. Or, these could be the things that mothers look forward to when their children have children. I guess I’m lucky that way.
(I realize now how much of a “Look at me, I’m so special!” kind of blog post this is, so I apologize. I don’t mean to be arrogant.)
Skies and Clouds 