Barbara is in charge of most of her brothers and sisters while her parents (and two younger siblings) are away on an Alaskan cruise.
PARTY!!!! PARTY!!!! PARTY!!!!
I am in charge of the house here now; mom and dad went on a 2-week cruise to Alaska, and that means I can do mostly what I want without worrying about whether they are going to ground me again!
This is Barbara. I am now 15, and I am one of the oldest kids in the family; I have been elected to be in charge, along with Anh and Steffi. When they are not here, I am the Boss in Charge, and anything the kids want to do has to come through ME first! I get to tell the little kids what to do and when to do it, and when to go to bed or if they need to take their baths or medicine; and they can't backtalk me because they know that I am older than they are, and what I say GOES. No questions!!
Mom and dad are gone; they went to Alaska for two weeks. They took Johnny and Ronee' with them; and I kinda' wish they would have taken ME or some of the others; but when I asked why they took only Johnny and Ronee' and NOT some of US, they told me that Johnny and Ronee' have been with them for nearly 11 years now, and they really haven't had an anniversary of the day when they were adopted into the family; so this was their present to them. Plus mom said that Johnny may not be around next year, and this was a good way to let him see a part of the world he never has seen, and also Ronee' was going because she has wanted to go to Alaska ever since last year when we first saw the aurora borealis last year here. Plus mom and dad said that they had always wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise, but because of the demands of the kids and the arrival of more kids into the family, they never made it to Alaska until now.
I can understand the logic behind their decision; but inside I am kind of mad and disappointed. Don't they think I would have loved to go along? Don't they think that I deserved to go for all the good grades I have had on my report cards and not staying out late and doing what was asked of me? It's like somehow I don't matter, and it hurts my feelings whenever I think of Johnny and Ronee' on that big ship and I am stuck here at home with a bunch of kids! I am a person, too, and I am a member of the family, too!! Don't MY feelings matter??
But it IS kind of nice, my being in charge. I get to set the rules (as long as I follow the rules already established by mom and dad), and I get to dole out the punishments if the kids misbehave, and I get to act like their mother instead of their older sister, which is kind of cool, if you really think about it! I get to cook, clean, and take care of little kids, and now that I am off school for one week (for Easter break), I will have PLENTY of opportunity to do THAT!
I will also get to see my boyfriend, Trent, and he can help me babysit if things get out of hand. He knows my brothers and sisters, and they know him, so it's not like I am having a STRANGER helping me! He is a responsible and caring young guy, and he knows how it is to have family (he has five brothers and sisters; all but one are younger than he is; his oldest brother is 17, two years older than Trent is); so my brothers and sisters are really no problem for him.
Maybe I can even have some of my girlfriends come over too; maybe one day we will have a little party (not TOO wild, mind you; mom or dad may get mad if things get out of hand or if they find the house in a wrecked state!)! Oh, this is going to be fun!! These two weeks are going to be just too KEWL!!!!
*Author's Note:
AAAIIIEEE!! is a Cajun's cry of joy; it's akin to someone else saying "YEEHAA!", "YAHOO!", or "WHOOPIE!" To hear someone cry "AAIIIEEE!" is very common in Cajun Country. You may also hear it in Cajun music.
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Reviewed by Robert Blackwell
4/12/2004
A nice write, but from you I've come to rely on that.
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