Understanding Why My Niece Thinks I Was Born 30

Apparently, I Was Born 30 Years Old

It’s funny how teenagers think adults have absolutely no idea what we’re talking about. Like, sweetie, you think when I was born I was in my 30s? Do you you think I was born with bad knees and a love for coffee? No, babe. I’ve been there. I’ve seen things.

Take my goddaughter/niece, for example. At 14, she thought it was totally normal to just take off at midnight. She would disappear for days. She stayed at some boy’s house. And, let’s be honest, he is probably going to end up on the FBI’s most wanted list in about five years.

Naturally, I lectured her. I told her it wasn’t safe. That she didn’t know who or what was lurking out there in the shadows.

I’m one of those “crazy ladies.” I fall asleep watching documentaries showing the scarier side of life. The other part? Well, it’s because I grew up in a teeny tiny town. We’re talking:

• No stop lights
• No grocery store
• No car wash
• Just one tiny park, one Dairy Queen, and one mom and pop shop.
  

My graduating class had 42 kids. And for fun? Oh, you know, we started a “clique”. (Yes. A “clique”. And that is for lack of better wording that I can use. With those “life sealing” pacts. Totally normal small-town Friday night stuff, right?)

There were weekly parties. Parties where things happened that just left a last impression on you. You just can’t seem to forget them.

So when I tell my niece things like, “Hey, maybe disappearing for days at 14 isn’t the safest idea,” it’s not because I don’t get it. It’s because I do. I’ve seen the paths my friends took—the good, the bad, and the very ugly.

But back then, to her, I was just this boring, bossy adult. To her, I was born 30. I couldn’t know what life was like.

It wasn’t until this year, two years later, that she actually started opening up to me. Her mind? Blown. Like—what?! Aunt Kimmie actually knows stuff?!

Yes, my darling girl. I do. I don’t say these things to ruin your fun. I say them because I’ve loved you since the day you were born. I’ve watched you grow from a squishy little newborn to a sassy 16-year-old. Do you really think I’d want to harm you in any way?

I’ve said it before: I don’t have kids of my own. Which means I take my role as Aunt VERY seriously. My nieces, nephews, godchildren—they are all my babies. I’ll research ADHD, autism, defiance disorders—whatever I need to better support them and their parents. I’ll step in when asked. I’ll discipline when I have to.

Sometimes, that makes me the least favorite. But you know what? That’s okay. Because love isn’t about being liked every second. Love is about showing up, holding boundaries, and being the safe place they can come back to.

And I hope—when they’re older, wiser, and maybe with their own kids—that they’ll see that. That they’ll know I wasn’t just “born in my 30s.” I was someone who cared enough to fight for them.

💜 — Love shine on you always!
Kimmie