Finding the Positives in a Negative Situation

A few weeks ago, my mom came into my room and informed me of some issues that were going on with my family in Florida. After she left, I sat there and thought deeply about what was going on. I wondered to myself whether I should ask my family if they wanted me to go down there to be with them and help out or if I should just keep my distance unless one of them contacted me first. Well, sure enough, a few days later my mom told me my aunt had called and asked for us to go down and help out with things.

My cousin is a mother of 2 year old twins and was unable to pay for child care. Everyone else in the family down there worked during the day, so my mom and I took care of the kids while everyone was at work.

As many may know, 2 year olds are sometimes referred to as "Terrible Twos" for a reason. And while these kids are usually sweet and loving, there are those few times that I just wanted to rip my hair out! But instead of losing my cool, I learned to be patient with them and I reminded myself that they were only 2 years old and they are still figuring things out.

Under the unfortunate circumstances that drew my mom and I down to Florida, there were some positive things that came out of the whole ordeal. I was able to spend some one-on-one time with my cousin and create some fun memories with her and just talk about life with her. After going to lunch, walking 4 miles on the beach (accidentally!), and getting mani/pedis together we found out a lot about each other and how alike we are.

One of the events that really stood out for me while I was down there was when my aunt and I took the kids to the doctor. In order for them to be able to go to daycare, they needed to get a few shots. I was holding one of them while my aunt held the other. I was expecting a full out battle while the shots were being administered to them, but surprisingly it wasn't until the last couple shots that they cried and even then, they only cried for maybe a minute. I have never been that proud of anybody before. They both very much deserved those stickers they got as we left the doctor's office.

I usually only get to see these kids a couple times a year so being able to spend 2 weeks with them was really nice and lots of fun. From watching Spongebob to building towers out of blocks, I enjoyed spending so much time with them. They each have very different personalities and they both made me laugh a lot during my visit there. I love them both very much.

I feel truly blessed that I was able to go down and be there for my family. After dealing with all the ups and downs of high school and gains and losses of friends, I have found that my family is the most important thing in the world. I'm glad I was able to help out and support my family the past couple of weeks. I know if the situation was reversed they would do the same thing for me as well.