Recently, my eldest niece Virgindlynn Teriana Brown, confessed to me that she had been seeing a young man for a little over 8 months.
What she didn't know was that her mother had already told me about this young man 6 months prior. I was just waiting for her to tell me that information about him on her own time.
First of all, I should say that I am very impressed with her. She is doing well academically, and she is involved in not one, but two extra- curricular activities.
She is a cheerleader for her high school football team and she is a member of her school JROTC program.
I once asked her why she chose to be a cheerleader at the same time as being involved in JROTC.
She replied, " I had to get out of my comfort zone. Isn't that what you told me to do, Uncle Rickey?"
For the first time in my life, I did not have a comeback for her.
Now back to what I was saying at the beginning of this tale.
I asked my niece about why she chose to delay telling me about her new boyfriend.
She said something that really made me proud of her decision.
She said, " I didn't want to tell you because I wanted to make sure that it was going to work out. Relationships don't always work out the way that you plan for them to go."
It took me several years and many relationships to understand something that she understood at the age of 15.
She went on to tell me that I would like this young man because he is smart and seems to be a gentleman just like me.
I am so glad that she takes the time to consult me about things that are happening in her life from time to time.
As she gets older, I know that there will come a time where she will no longer seek my advice and begin to sort things out for herself.
Until then, I will enjoy the magical moments of being the "Jiminy Cricket" of her life.
