Family Business

When my cousin was preparing to begin her summer internship at the advertising agency, she could not have imagined the challenges and frustrations she’d face. People breathing down her neck and constantly watching over her shoulder. The never-ending series of questions and demands. Individuals taking note of her every move.

Don’t get me wrong. She is doing great at her job. These challenges and frustrations are coming not from the workplace, but from our daughters.

My cousin is living with us during her six-week internship, and we are enjoying her being here so much. However, our girls have raised idol worship to a new level and will not leave her alone. They LOVE her and want to be with her every minute, following her around the house like little groupies.

Our youngest starts watching out the window for her about 4:45 p.m. each day, even though she doesn’t get off work until 5:00 p.m. and then still has to face the rush hour traffic. Our oldest has started spending a great deal of time fixing her hair in an effort to look more glamorous – like her 21-year-old cousin.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then she should feel very, very flattered. Each night at dinnertime, our girls do their best to find outfits in their closets that most closely resemble whatever she is wearing. If she stands with one foot crossing the other with her hand on her hip, you can bet our little llamas will position themselves the same way. And when she works on her laptop, she has two disciples run to get their own play computers and set them up next to hers.

The other night, I put our youngest daughter to sleep in her room and then got involved in a movie on TV. When I got ready to go to bed myself, I found her asleep on the hallway floor right outside my cousin’s room with a flashlight shining under her door. Sweet, innocent adulation or scary stalker behavior? You be the judge.

Our lowest point yet was when the girls got into her expensive perfume while she was at work – and then lied about what they had done, telling me it was from a bottle of kid cologne they’d received at Christmas. When we discovered the truth, they got in big trouble and had to apologize, assuring her they would not bother ANY of her things again. The girls want to be like her so much they can’t stand it – but that’s no excuse for their blatant disobedience.

Fortunately, my cousin is a GREAT sport and really wonderful with the girls. She takes them to Target. She styles their hair with her flat iron. She lets them take photos with her cell phone. She reads them books and puts lip gloss on them and buys them Scooby Doo frozen fruit treats.

My husband and I are trying to cut a deal where she’ll pre-record sound bites – like “you really do need to brush your teeth so you won’t get cavities” – we can play for the girls after she’s gone at the end of the summer. Somehow, they listen much more closely to what she says, even if we’ve just said the exact same thing.

When her internship is over, my cousin will return home with an increased knowledge of how the advertising business works. And probably a very strong belief in birth control. However, I hope she also gets out of this experience what we have – the blessing of spending time and building strong relationships with family.

That’s worth more than any paycheck.