R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Hello Everyone:

It's almost summer.  In fact tomorrow is the official first day of summer.  This reminds me that I have to change my Facebook and Twitter profile photos before I sign out for the day.  Hold on.  O.K. I'm back.  I just had to change my profile pictures before I forget.  Now that's done, let's move on shall we?  Little nephew is spending the day at chez mois, as cute as he can be, he was starting to wear on my nerves with his demands and his little kid dramatics.  Yes, he's a little boy but he can be so demanding at times.  Maybe it's just me.  Since I don't have children, I just don't have the same level of patience for them.  I used to work in elementary schools when I first got out of college so I learned to develop patience around children.  What I really learned from that experience is that it's not the kids, it's their parents.  In this case, their grandmother.  I don't believe in indulging a child's every whim.  I certainly don't like being reduced to a child's servant, fetching and wiping his/her chin.  Mom does this all the time and it drives me up a tree.  Her reason, she wants to spend as much "quality" with the little monkey before he grows up and doesn't need her anymore.  That's fine but you don't have to reduce yourself in standing in the process.  Sometimes you have to be the adult.  Being the adult also means saying "no" on occasion.  The way I see it, when you present yourself in a certain manner to a small child, they get accustomed to that and see you that way all the time.  For example, if you bow to their every whim, then they know they can walk all over you and play you against mom and/or dad who say "no."  This way a child learns that he/she can demand whatever they want and not properly respect adults.  This includes, other adult relatives and teachers.  It's not that I don't "respect" children, it's just that my understanding of the phrase is knowing when to put my foot down and when to take it off.  I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time out of the house over the summer.