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Belle's Musing - Being an Aunt Is Exhausting
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Belle’s Musing – Being an Aunt Is Exhausting
By Aunt Belle Touchton – The Missionary Dog
Mommy - Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady
Train a a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Prov 22:6 NIV
I’m an aunt and I take my responsibilities seriously. Last week, Mommy and Daddy took a break from their work to keep Noah and Ava for five days and I’ve never worked so hard in all my life. Mommy kept saying they were keeping her grandchildren but I’m their aunt and since no one gave me credit for how hard I worked, I thought I’d tell my story myself.
Ava is seven months old and Noah is four, which is the same age difference between my brother and sister, Chris and Kelley. You would have thought that since Mommy and Daddy had done this before, they could manage without me but trust me, they needed me.
First, let me say how hard it is to watch a four year old in the back yard. Yes, I understand it was fenced but I don’t like it when Noah gets too far from the back door. Mommy just sat on the back porch and let me do all the work. I ran circles around Noah and pulled at his shorts until he got back to where I thought he should be. Mommy kept scolding me because she was afraid I was going to tear his shorts. If I didn’t know her better, I’d think she cared more about the shorts than me keeping Noah safe.
Every night, Mommy and Daddy went into their bedroom and left Ava alone in her room. What could they have been thinking? I’ve been sleeping in Mommy and Daddy’s room since I was born so why were they willing to leave Ava in another room? I understand why they expected me to sleep at the foot of their bed but after all, I am an Aunt and I was on duty. If Mommy and Daddy were going to sleep, someone had to stand guard by Ava’s door. They called me into their room every night but I ignored them and curled up next to Ava’s closed door.
One night, Noah woke up yelling, “GrandBobby, GrandBobby.”
Mommy’s trained him to call for GrandBobby and not Gi Gi. Pretty smart!
I jumped up, trying to decide what to do. Did I leave Ava’s room and go to Noah or did I stand guard over Ava? I finally ran into Mommy and Daddy’s room and barked. They had a monitor in Ava’s room but I wasn’t sure they could hear Noah. Daddy stumbled out of bed to go to Noah and I went back to guarding Ava’s door. Mommy stayed in bed.
When Uncle Vaughan, Kelley, Ginny and Grandpap came over, I was a nervous wreck. Ava was on the floor on her blanket and there were too many people in the room. I spent the entire time running circles around Ava so no one tripped over her.
I didn’t think Grandpap should pick Ava up and so I let him know it! Mommy scolded me. Doesn’t she trust my instincts?
It took both Mommy and Daddy to bath, dress, feed, and put the children to sleep. Mommy said, “Bob, we could still raise children but we would both have to quit our jobs to do it.”
Daddy agreed. At one point Daddy joked, “I’m never hiring young parents again. This takes too much energy. There is no way they could do all this and still concentrate on their job.”
Mommy asked, “Have you ever spent five entire days watching children before?”
Daddy thought for a moment and said, “No I haven’t. I don’t know how you did this.”
What would they have done if I hadn’t been there? Whitney had written pages of notes and every time Mommy and Daddy went to do something, they looked at the notes. They could have asked me what to do next. I memorized it the first day and prompted them by barking. You didn’t really need the notes. All you had to do was watch Ava. She let you know when she was hungry or tired.
My favorite part of the week was listening to Mommy and Noah talk about God. Noah was full of questions. He asked, “What does God look like?”
“No one really knows,” Mommy said.
“I know what Jesus looked like,” Noah said. “I saw a picture.”
“Well,” Mommy said. “No one really knows what Jesus looked like either but some artists have drawn pictures from their imagination. What you saw was someone’s imagination of what Jesus looked like.”
“I think the picture I saw was what he really looked like.”
“Did he have dark skin in the picture?” Mommy asked.
“No,” Noah said.
“Jesus was from the Middle East so he probably had darker skin than you,” Mommy explained. “His skin, hair, and eyes were most likely dark.”
“Why?” Noah asked.
“Have you noticed that some people have dark skin and others have light skin?” Mommy said.
“Yes,” Noah said. “Why?”
Mommy paused and finally gave a standard answer, “Because that was the way God made them.”
“How old is God?” Noah asked.
“God has always been here,” Mommy said. “He has no beginning or end.”
Noah likes math so Mommy continued, “It’s called infinity. Infinity means forever and ever. Numbers go into infinity because there is no end to them.”
“Who made God?” Noah asked.
“No one had to make Him,” Mommy said. “He was always here.”
“Why can’t I see Him?” Noah asked.
“You can feel Him,” Mommy said. “That’s why I go outside and talk to God every morning. I feel Him, read His words from the Bible, and He tells me what to do. His spirit lives in me.”
“Why?” Noah asked.
Poor Mommy. She looked stumped for a moment. Finally, she answered, “Because when I was eight years old, I asked Jesus into my life. Now He is always there.”
“Were Ginny and Granpap always that old?” Noah asked. It is hard to keep up with the twists and turns of the mind of a four year old.
“No,” Mommy said. “When I was a little girl, they were young like your Mommy and Daddy.”
“When will they die?” Noah asked. Noah’s dog Ariel died so he knew about death.
“I don’t know,” Mommy said. “Only God knows that.”
Noah looked worried so Mommy added, “Noah, you know Ginny and Grandpap are Christians. They will go to heaven when they die so they aren’t afraid of dying.”
“I think I’m afraid of dying,” Noah said.
“Most people aren’t in a hurry for it to happen but when you’ve asked Jesus into your life, and know you are going to heaven, there is nothing to be afraid of. I’m not afraid of dying.”
Noah ran off. He was done talking. Mommy just sat there stunned. I think she was talking to God. We both wondered what had prompted all the questions. Noah knows Mommy travels the country talking to people about God so I think he’s decided that Mommy is the God expert. Mommy looked worried so I laid my head in her lap. I think she is a pro at this and did just fine with her answers.
My other favorite part of being an aunt is mealtime. Noah and Ava are very generous with their food and if I stand under their chairs, I get plenty to eat. The only problem is that Ava loves to spit her squash everywhere. I’m covered from head to toe with baby squash. Mommy and Daddy have been cleaning me for a week but it is still there. I think there is a doggie spa in my future.
Being an aunt is exhausting but it is worth it when Ava’s face lights up when I walk into a room.
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Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information or to schedule a speaker for an event, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462.
This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road as a traveling missionary, send your tax deductible contribution to Pocket Full of Change Ministries, POB 51205, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32240.
© Pocket Full of Change Ministries
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