How to Be a Neighborhood Aunt, Teenage Version

Last Monday, 14-year-old Toby was in a bad mood. Fearing about the long week of school, he thought up what would make him feel better. So he texted me…

“Hey, do you want to go out for dinner tonight?” he asked my friend. rear.

For the past 4 yearsshe, Toby and her daughter Sydney went out for dinner every season. They all love the ritual very much.

Their first dinner was in 2021 when I had a Covid. “How can I help?” Leah texted me earlier that day. Anton said he was happy to be home, but Toby was restless – he kept knocking on my bedroom door, lamenting that I couldn’t let him in, so could she take him to pizza? Within an hour she was at our door.

The night has become beautiful. Whenever Toby loves an activity, he declares “tradition” in the hope that it will happen again soon. And this time it worked. Leah became his neighbor’s aunt.

Meals usually include bread, pasta, Shirley temple, ginger ale and dessert. “It’s called the ‘Auntie Rule’,” Leah laughed. “The rule is that they can get whatever they want.”

“I start by being stupid,” Leah told me. “We lift our heads and spy, but in the last 20 minutes or so, Toby usually starts to open up asking questions. Then we hand my daughter a phone and he and I can talk.”

Anton is always invited, but he likes to stay at home in quiet times. “Instead of trying to convince him to come now, I’ll bring him a treat,” Leah told me. “Like s’mores pizza or yoyo.”

I am extremely grateful that Toby and Anton have a trustworthy adult outside of their family. “My relationship with a teenager is special.” rear He told me over the phone. “For many years, we’ve been talking about your divorce, his friends, his girls’ things, school stuff, all sorts of things,” she pauses, adding, “I envision this friendship for life.”

PS Neighborhood Aunt, Baby Version, and how I’m going to be 10 things I like about raising teen parenting/Preteens.