A series of things I'm learning through the frustrating, exhausting, sometimes adorable, yet-still-the-best-form-of-birth-control-ever experience of being a tía this month to 11 girls between the ages of 10 and 16.
Marta, who all year long has been one of my absolute favorites in my normal section of girls, seems to have developed an attitude problem this month. After lots of back-talking, lying, and trying to run off without permission, I let her have a piece of my mind, and I think it freaked her out.
"Listen to me. Do not lie to me again. You know the rules, so do not try to get around them. And when any of the tías asks you to do something, you'll do it. Got it?"
As one of my favorites, I was really mad at and disappointed in her for not being more cooperative. And as someone who's never yelled at her before, I think she was really mad at me for not not being best-friend-Carrie and letting her get away with things. Needless to say, we both spent the rest of the morning giving each other the cold shoulder.
Then after lunch, she came up behind me with a drawing I'd seen her making earlier and held it in front of me. Léalo, Carrie. Read it.
She'd written me a note, saying: Carrie, thank you for your support and I'm sorry if I've behaved badly with you. Will you forgive me? I am going to try to behave better.
Lesson: A 24 year-old and a 14 year-old are both being immature over an argument and are resorting to the silent treatment. It turns out, the 14 year-old might make the peace offering first.
Lesson: Even if I yell at them, it doesn't mean they won't still love me later.
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