Dear Favorite Auntie,
You
have been in an enviable position, being the favored, if not favorite,
Auntie! This means you are envied…not only by the other aunts, but
perhaps by your sister, as well. It seems to me that she is trying to
punish you even more than her daughter; it's not fair to use a child as a
weapon for revenge.
There are two things you can do. The first
is to have a pow-wow with your sister and the other aunts and to try to
work out schedules that give them more time. It is OK to tell your
10-year-old niece when, with whom, and where to go some of the time. The
second is to explore within yourself why it is so important for you to
be number one. It is very understandable; most people like being the
chosen one. But you may have more invested in it than necessary.
Everyone
needs to keep in mind that it won’t be long before your niece prefers
to be with friends that are her peers rather than her family.
Best of Luck,
Natalie Robinson Garfield
TheSenseConnection.wordpress.com
Homepage photo: CHOReograPH
Updated and republished: January 24, 2018
Originally published: July 15, 2011
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