"The Wisdom of the Drunk Aunt"

My mom friend pointed me to this hilarious essay by Lisa Gabriele about being the one friend who hasn't gone down the parenting path. Here's a snip:

Now way back, my friends and I all vowed that we weren't going to allow being parents to change us, to turn us into conservative, frazzled neurotics. I hope it doesn't sound smug to say that I seem to be the only one who took those vows seriously. You may think it's inappropriate to speak to children the way I do, but I've always been of the firm belief that we talk down to them way too much. Also, I like to remain unalloyed in their presence because children have the best bullshit detectors around.

For instance, when my six-year-old nephew once asked me why I never got mad at him for making messes when I baby-sit, I didn't candy-coat it.

"It's because I'm thinner than your mother," I said. "Thin people tend to be more relaxed when they're wallowing in filth. In anything, actually. Even dress pants from H&M."

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