I mentioned at the very beginning that I am not Chicky's relative. I am a villager. It is more than just the parents' job to raise a child; it is the job of everyone in that child's life. (But, you know, no pressure.) I'm thrilled and honored to be one of the villagers, and I love spending time with Chicky and Hatchling. Of course, we don't only talk about sex and puberty. That would get old pretty fast. That's just the topic of this blog, you see, so that's what you hear about.
As most parents appear to know, it is wise to take advantage of those who want to be part of your kids' lives. Even better if they have some actually wisdom to impart. In terms of adolescence, I don't have more wisdom than Chicky's parents, but I do have greater enthusiasm for it as a conversation topic. Plus, simply being pretty young and, you know, not her parents, makes me a good additional resource for this.
However, being not her parents has its challenges. They get to make the value calls, they get to decide what lessons to impart, and they want to be kept up-to-date in terms of what, in general, we're talking about. These challenges are actually far less challenging than you might expect, actually. I have known the family for quite a while, so I'm generally pretty in tune with what they want to happen with Chicky. We also share a lot of the same values, which makes the split second "how-do-I-answer-that-question" moments a lot easier. And, of course, we talk about this project as we go along. Which should be a given, but I doubt it really is.
Chicky's parents talk with her about these things too, of course. I am not her sole source of information-- but I am often her first source. This is an immense privilege and a no-less-immense responsibility. I am certainly not unaware of that.
But you know what else?
It's really, really fun.
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