What I wanted to say......what I should have said

Last week we said good-bye to my funny, sweet, gorgeous, beautiful sister and nieces. They will be moving to Japan for four LOOONNG years. When they get back,my nieces will be 20, 17, and 16. We tried to talk to them before they left about being careful, staying away from boys and the like. What I really wanted to say, meant to say, should have said, is this

---Boys are awesome in that they will eventually turn into men who will care for you, provide for you, become your husbands, and the father of your children. UNTIL THEN, they are boys and not worth crying over, losing your parents trust over, losing sleep over. They will tell you what you want to hear, show you what you want to see, and do WHATEVER it is they have to do in order to get past "first base" with you. 99.9 % of boys under the age of 20 cannot be trusted with you. You are beautiful, gorgeous even. DO NOT SETTLE for less than the best. And the best would NEVER require you to lose that which is most precious to you for them. Your testimony, your purity, you future are NOT WORTH losing over a simple boy. Let them take you to dinner, to the movies, to church, and then give them a hug goodnight. You all have way too much talent, passion, and love to give to waste it on some simple boy. You wait 'till you got a MAN!

--- Your mom and dad are seriously some of the best parents I have ever had the luck of knowing. Yes, they seem like they just want to ruin your lives. I get that. They don't. They, as many of us, made mistakes when younger and they do NOT want to see you do the same. They tell you no for a reason. You will "get it" when you have the maturity to see it from the other side. LISTEN TO THEM! They are not just saying things to tick you off. They say things to help prevent all sorts of evils from happening to their girls. They have been there, done that. LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN to them.

---If you ever touch a cigarette or drugs I will personally beat you down. Seriously, the addiction is SO NOT WORTH IT. You won't look cool, or mature, you will look like a moron and stink like an ashtray. That is SO NOT CUTE! There are many of us who battle these addicitons that wish EVERY DAY that they didn't even start.

----GET YOUR DEGREE! BACHELORS BEFORE BABIES! Your education is something that can NEVER be taken away from you. Go to school, get that degree. Even if you find a man that has a job that will allow you to stay home and raise babies, you will always have that degree to fall back on if he were to lose his job, or God forbid, leave. Your degree will give you independence to do what YOU want to do.

---I love you. I love you, love you, love you like you're my own girls. I miss you. Lord do I worry about you. You are such awesome, beatiful, smart, God filled girls. Me and Aunt Angie are ALWAYS here for you. Even, especially, when you do something stupid. Please call us so we can either laugh at you, bail you out, or kick your butt.

You either laugh or worry yourself sick over the young girls in your life.

We love you sweet girls.

Aunt Chrissy


Ok, well, now its my turn. What I wanted to say and what I meant to say....and we'll see if I can get through this without bawling my eyes out.

Alright girls....when it comes to boys, STAY AWAY!!!!!!! As your aunts, you may think we are older than dirt, however, it honestly wasnt that long ago that we were in your shoes. So anxious to be older, more mature, to be dating, engaged, married, whatever. So heres my best advice. Dont date. seriously. dont do it for a LONNNNNGGGG time (Samantha, are you listening?) You girls are beyond gorgeous, and any boy would be lucky to have you...however...they cant have you. Nope, they cant. Because, right now, you belong to your parents. EWWWWWWWWW yes, yes I know. But, believe me when I tell you, that you have the very best parents a teenage, pre-teen, girl could ask for. They care about where you are, who you are talking to, what your character is, how you are dressed. Look around girls, those girls that you see that are dressed like whores???? their parents dont care about them. They are dressed like that so that they can find a boy that will fill the hole in their lives left by uncaring parents. Thing is...no boy can. A man can, but you cant have a man at your age. Take this time to spend with your family. You wont believe how much you miss this time when you are older.

Ok, next, DONT BE STUPID!!!! Remember, you are in a foreign country! You are not in the U.S. and therefore do not have the freedoms that we enjoy here! You do not have the luxury to "let your guard down" until your parents say you can. Just because a boy (or group of girls for that matter) seem nice, it doesnt mean you just hop in the car with them, or go for a walk with them. I did some seriously stupid stuff when I was younger, and it was only by the grace of God that I wasnt damaged permanently.

Next...get your college degree!!!!! This goes more for Sammy right now than Nanna or Autumn. Sam--get that degree! You will never regret it! I dont have many regrets, but one of my biggest is not getting my bachelors. There were several reasons why I didnt, not just Uncle Andy. I will tell you that I have missed promotions and not even been considered for jobs because I dont have my bachelors. And now I have a million kids and going back to school is the LAST thing I need to be doing.

My beautiful nieces, I love you to the moon and back. I wish I could give you big hugs right before you get on that plane. I miss you terribly already.

To Kim, I just dont have the words. I love you, my other twin. Take care of my sweet nieces, and kick them in the rear for me.

Ang