It's All My Fault

When my nephew was born, and my brother asked me to be his godmother, there were jokes aplenty about how children inherit traits from their godparents. Whenever Alex exhibits something…odd…it is pegged on me:

Bossy/Stubborn/Doesn’t share toys
Fits of temper
Hates to be woken up
Picky eater

Stuff like that.

My niece, Ainslie, (age three months) has no early warning signs of these traits. She is very easy going except for a couple of non-negotiables. She does not tolerate dirty diapers, for example. But she is very patient, particularly with Alex who gets in her face a lot.

I am not Ainslie’s godmother. But this weekend, I was still pegged:

We asked how she was doing in daycare. “Daycare” is a neighbor’s house, where there are a few other young children. Alex was there until he started pre-school. Daycare lady said she is very pleasant, and doesn’t cry a lot, but she likes her “alone time”. What does that mean?

“Sometimes, she just wants to be left alone. She doesn’t even want to be held.”

My brother announced, “She gets that from Aunt Anne. Aunt Anne doesn’t like to be touched too much.”

Oh, fine.