"My Words Have Power"
A Milestone For Leah
by: Nicole Kim Phillips
Today is the beginning of the rest of your life is what I said to Leah, as she looked into the dining room waving goodbye from the hall. Her backpack looked bulky again this morning. I figured she had slipped a pair of her Mothers high heel boots into her backpack for a quick change at school. Going against her Mother's wishes had become a regular issue this year. Not to sure, if her raging, teenage hormones are to blame or her status as a Senior Student. Both, can cause involuntary changes to become more noticeable to grown folks. Rebellion may be a nice change, from hearing slamming doors and loud music blaring, with beats bouncing off the walls, but I knew I would end up playing referee, once Leah was caught breaking rules. That is what I did not want. Let me live content, with a full body pillow between my legs, and a tv remote control in my hand, flipping through channels, trying to choose between Law & Order and Classic Dallas Reruns. My Sister respected me, and I could usually convince her, to allow Leah to attend a party, or walk the Mall with friends. Bringing up a few remember what it was like reminders, is all it took for her to change her mind.
The words of encouragement I had shared with Leah earlier would provide her with a positive outlook concerning her future. Of course she had some planning to do, but she did not have to feel the pressure of indecision just because her friends were finalizing plans. My reassurance had helped her last week. Hearing the replay, of something I had already said, is just what she needed, before meeting with her friends for breakfast. As an Auntie, I tried to show support without being too intrusive. After all, I was not Mother; I was the Auntie. The traveling she did, kept her on holiday more than necessary, and when she was home, they did not agree very much. My Sister even pulled Leah's hair once too. The only thing that kept the white of my fist, off the rice that is her face was Leah's sense of humor about the whole thing. She grinned a bit, when the incident happened. Thank God, Leah was finding a way to cope with the mood swings and jealousy of her Mother. Giselle could be too much for her own good sometimes. I never spoke of the hair pulling incident, until Leah mentioned she wanted to have a...
I am an Author of a Children's Book entitled: "Visiting Granny In Mississippi" (Read my Book Summary)