My 9-year-old nephew can be a sweet and very funny little person. But I have discovered that he can also be an abrupt little shit when he's playing Nintendo, which he was doing constantly before/after we ate on Thanksgiving.He thought he lost his charger, but in reality he had left it at my mom's house and we returned it to him when we arrived at his house for Thanksgiving Dinner. At first he was excited about the holiday and had much to show me -- especially the placemats he had carefully made. During the meal he was well behaved and engaged. But from the moment his Gameboy was charged, he was lost to us, and made sure I appreciated how annoyed he was by my interruptions.
If I had been the only one receiving his scorn, I would have brought it to his parents' attention. But he was just as condescending and pointed with his own dad, so they're aware of it. I'm just the aunt, and there's only so much I can do.
Also, we get the results back from the neurologist next week, so I'm inclined to cut him slack. Because of his headaches, the little guy has been seen by two pediatricians, endured an MRI and a trip to this specialist. While all the doctors seem to believe that the cause of the headaches isn't life-threatening, it's hard not to worry. I know he's very concerned that he is going to hear that his terrible headaches are triggered by dairy. After all, he's just 9. To him, the worst thing that can happen is being told he can no longer have his favorite meal -- a grilled cheese sandwich and milk.
My 16-year-old niece was notably absent. She is spending this weekend with a friend's family at an indoor water park in Wisconsin. She enjoys her new-found freedom, but I missed her.
My mom read an article in one of the Chicago papers about problems at the advertising agency where I work. The first thing she said when she saw me was, "Happy Thanksgiving! I love you." She hugged me often. It took me by surprise. Since her illness earlier this year, our role reversal has been even more pronounced, so it was lovely to have her go all Mommy on me again. She observed that I have always had a hard time "being patient," so she realizes that waiting to see what happens at work must be hard for me. She's right. But I guess that's no surprise. Nobody knows you like your mom.
That's exactly why Book Boy is not allowed to play his Nintendo when we're visiting or have visitors. In fact, we basically don't let him play it around anyone but us. He gets into a "zone" and is lost to the world, annoyed at all interruptions, etc. (And if I were you, I would be annoyed with your sister for letting him play it so much - or at all, really - at a family gathering.)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if stuff like this stands out more because we don't have kids and aren't inured to it the way their parents must be.
ReplyDeleteMy mom and I also switched roles during the last, oh, 15 years of her life and the ones where I got to be the kid were few and far between so I loved when those moments did happen. Glad you got a dab of it. We all need it sometimes.
We had over 24 hours of no video games, it was the first time that my boys didn't bring a system with them to my brother's!!! It was very nice. They don't do the game boy in front of family, it's basically a car "toy" for them. As teenagers, they were more into sleep when when they weren't snowboarding. My oldest didn't go out skiing b/c he is heading off to England next semester and didn't want to get hurt. So you see, there is hope for your nephew, the brain catches up with them.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the dairy goes, he just might not miss the cheese and milk if he knows it means no headaches.
Besides the tech addicted nephew, it sounded like you had a nice day with family.