What do you think about receiving phone calls at the crack of dawn? Incredibly early ones.
Recently, my husbands sister-in-law has begun ringing our house at 5 in the morning. My husbands own mobile wasnt on silent at that hour either, since his sister was bombarding him with calls as well. Wed barely opened our eyesit was sheer audacity.
When I finally picked up, I heard:
Why are you still asleep? Were heading off before eleven for something important. Keep an eye on the children. Theyre waiting outside your front gate.
Before either of us could get out a word, the line cut out.
My husband and I just stared at each other, absolutely baffled. Which children at this time of the morning, and why at our gate?
My husband quickly got dressed and went outside. The dogs were barking their heads off, so we knew for sure someone was out there.
And sure enough, three of our nephews and nieces were lined up at the gate. I was completely taken aback.
We ushered the children inside and immediately started phoning their parents to find out what on earth was going on. The answer we got was:
Dont you love your nephews and nieces at all? You never give them any pocket money and never buy them presents, so at least you could spend some time with them. We have important business to sort out. Nows your chance to redeem yourselves in your childrens eyes.
My husband and I were utterly floored. The youngest was not even a year old, and they hadnt left any nappies or baby food.
Thankfully, our town has a Tesco thats open round the clock. My husband nipped out and bought everything the children might need, since there was nothing else to do.
It was a trying day. The kids were restless and fussy, didnt want to sleep, and cried their eyes out. I knew it wasnt really their fault, considering how early they’d been woken.
Their parents didnt bother to pick them up until three oclock in the afternoonand that only happened because we kept calling and insisting. Looking after someone elses children is a huge responsibility.
To top it off, their parents criticised us for buying the wrong nappies and food. Still, they happily took home everything we bought.
Now were at a loss as to how we can prevent this from happening again. I worry about waking up to find our nieces and nephews on our doorstep at five in the morning once more. Im still shaken by it all.
Sometimes family forgets that respect and clear communication are part and parcel of caring relationships. True love means being considerate of each others time and well-beingnot just dropping children off without a word and expecting others to pick up the pieces.
