It's no secret that my niece just had a baby girl. I shared this a few days ago. The thing is, my niece has a slight independent streak, something I can relate to which is probably why we get along so well. I have worked hard to establish a relationship with my niece. We text! I guess if your dealing with young adults you have to learn their mode of communication and that is hers. It is because of our texting that I feel I have become a figure of some sort, in her life. I say of some sort because I'm hoping that is a good thing but hey, her perception is her reality so for her it may not be good! In all seriousness, it is because we have grown close that I am able to ask her to do things that she wouldn't think about.
I spoke with my sister the other day and she was feeling left out of the equation. She is a grandmother for the second time but for the "other" grandparents this is their first grandchild. I guess my sister was feeling as if she was being pushed out of the way. Make no mistake, just because this is the second grandchild of my sister's does not mean that she doesn't want to be a part of her granddaughter's life any less.
Today, as I was texting my niece to find out how she was doing, it occurred to me that maybe she keeps her distance from her Mom. I know I do and being that we are a lot alike, I thought that perhaps this is just how she is. Nevertheless, I thought I would broach the subject by extracting a promise from her and she responded!
As I was getting ready to say good night to her I asked her if she would make me a promise. She said "ok, what?" I asked her to please make an effort to visit her Mom more. I told her that I noticed the last time I was there that she only came by the day of her baby shower. I also told her that we were all waiting on pins and needles for this little bundle of joy to arrive and that her Mom was so excited about her arrival. I asked my niece if she would promise me that she would visit with her Mom more often even if she had to ask her Mom to come pick her up. She promised me that she would.
I would not have been in this position to ask had I not developed my relationship with my niece. If that means sometimes carving out five minutes of my day just to send a text then that is what I will do and that is what you should do too. Life is to short to spend time on things that don't matter that much. Chasing the dream is okay, but it is the people in our lives that matter most. We are limited with our time here on earth so make the most of spending those moments with the people you love. I sure could have used and extra hour of sleep today, instead I chose to text my niece for a little while to find out how she was doing, how the baby was doing, how her fiance was doing. But most of all it gave me the opportunity to ask my niece for something that will benefit my sister. If there is one thing that I have learned the hard way, it is not to spend so much time dwelling on what I could have done; now is try to act on what I think God would want me to do. He is always faithful. Nurture those relationships that have been neglected, it only takes a little time each day. If there is a way to mend those fences that have been broken, you can apply the same technique, make the time! I am by no means an expert, but I do my best.
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