This summer, I landed an internship with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (can I get a whoop whoop?!). Living in Maine, this left me with an incredibly long commute to work. After discussing my predicament with my sister, she threw out the idea of living with her for the summer – since she lives 30 minutes from Concord.
You must be thinking that I am crazy for wanting to live with my sister again. Well here’s the thing! We never really got to live together since she is sixteen years older than me. I jumped at the idea of living with her, my brother-in-law, and two baby nephews. I moved out of UNH and quickly settled in with my sister. She helped me get a job waitressing at the Tilt’n Diner (exit 20 off of 93 – amazing people and great food!) and supported me throughout my first “big girl” job.
Living with my sister’s family allowed me to create stronger bonds with my nephews. I became one of their ‘people’ – the person they look for when they are surrounded by strangers. I took the kids to daycare in the morning a few days out of the week – sometimes that ended in my eldest nephew getting carsick… but I wouldn’t trade the time spent with them for anything.
I continued to build my relationship with the oldest tiny human by taking him on adventures. They inevitably ended up being called “Greyson/TT ‘Ventures!”. We went to a children’s indoor play place, had an early morning donut date while watching the ‘big trucks!’, enjoyed milkshakes, and even some french fries (sorry, sis).
Living with a toddler made me slow down during my everyday life. It was a constant reminder that seeing a ‘big truck’ on the highway, or a spider in our water spout, could bring joy. Grey reminded me to get in touch with my senses every time he would hear a lawnmower across the street and go running to the window. I hope the memories made stick with Grey, but even if they do not, the impression he left on me will last for a lifetime.