A Sister's Mutation

It has been happening slowly, subtle at first, then picking up speed. A gradual mutation from one entity into another. My persona has twisted and I have morphed into.....a mother!

No, I am not really a mom, I'm still a little too young for that (in my opinion anyways), but I have been acting like one more and more. I'm kinda tired tonight, so I'll keep the explanation quick. You see, this summer has been different than any of my other summers. Usually I head down to the Florida heat and bugs during the summer to visit my family down there, however, this year I decided to stay in Virginia. My Mom is working this summer for the first time in around fifteen years, and she desperately needed someone to watch the kids in the mornings. This is where yours truly comes in.

I figured, hey, they're just my siblings and my mom is willing to pay me, not much, but any additional income is welcome (college kid remember), so I can watch them in the mornings and work in the afternoon. Little did I know that I would be giving up my identity. I no longer feel like their big sister, I feel like their mom. I wake up and cook them breakfast, spend several hours doing various activities with my brother (My sister is withdrawn. It''s a phase.), cleaning the house, and cooking them lunch. I am also the one who has all of my siblings friends and parents phone numbers to contact them by. I am the one talking to all of the parents, setting things up, getting to know them, and making sure it is okay for my siblings to come over.

My mom comes home, I go to work, and when I get back the kids are usually still awake. So I then proceed to read my brother his bedtime story and say his prayers with him. After that I go and talk to my sister and watch TV with her for a while, before she crashes and I do this blog. Do I sound more like a sister or a mom? I feel more like a mom. -sigh- Oh well, at least I'm getting in practice. So much for keeping it quick, huh?

~If there is any specific topic you would like me to write about, send me an e-mail at BriarBlack@hotmail.com~

Preteens: Are they human?

Looking at my home, you wouldn't think anything scary could possibly exist there. We live in a decent neighborhood, where absolutely nothing exciting ever happens, our home is clean, our yard is neat, and we even have roses growing beside the front door. You would never suspect that there was a monster secretly lurking behind that seemingly innocent front door. Unknown to you, however, there is preteen skulking withing, ready to strike at the first unsuspecting passerby!!

Okay, perhaps that was a tad bit melodramatic, but at times I have serious internal debates about whether or not aliens have abducted my real sister and replaced her with an evil clone. Well, maybe not serious internal debates about alien abductions. My sister, however, has gone through drastic personality changes in these past few months. I really don't know what happened to her. When I went back to college after Christmas break, she was the same sweet, err, semi-sweet girl I had known since childhood. After college let out for the summer and I came back, it was like a stranger was sharing a room with me. A temperamental, over-dramatic, conniving stranger. The scary part about this, is that she behaves as if nothing is different. She raises cain, has crying fits, and then walks around the rest of the day as if nothing happened. Maybe she thinks the whole family has short term memory loss and doesn't remember her craziness. I'm not quite sure.

Don't get me wrong, I love my sister very much, despite her insanity, and I know this is just a phase. So, I'm going to go all sentimental on this blog and say that I suppose I will just have to stick with her through all of this, and help the parents out the best I can. Since they are the ones really lost on how to handle her, but they are getting better at it. As the first child I was the guinea pig, so to speak, so with past experience they are taking her.....ummm......."difficulties" in stride.

As for the title question, "Preteens: Are they human?", the answer is a resounding NO, but eventually their humanity will eek back into their system and you can have a rational conversation with them again. Hopefully. If not, maybe my brother and I can sell her and get a cat. Everyone goes home happy.

~If you have a specif topic you would like me to write about send me an e-mail at BriarBlack@hotmail.com~