Personal Narrative: Two Peas In A Pod

In life, everyone faces a challenge at some point. Some people’s challenges are more extreme than others, but it’s still a challenge to face. I’ve had many challenges in my life so it’s hard for me to think of just one. I figured that, I would choose, the one that sticks out to me the most, and that’s not being able to see my nephew. My nephew and I are known as the ‘Two Peas in a Pod’, the ‘Partner’s in Crime’ and so going through this challenge has been quite the struggle. On December 6, 2014 Jorden was born. He was 5 weeks early. I had no idea that I was going to be an aunt. Well, nobody in my family knew anything about it. Jorden’s mom hid her pregnancy, so Jorden was a big surprise to everyone. The moment that I saw him, I knew that he was going to be something special to me, which he is. He’s my blonde hair, blue eyed, best friend. Jorden has a contagious laugh and smile. My brother’s girlfriend and I taught Jorden how to stick out his tongue in pictures, so now, whenever we take a picture, of course, he sticks out his little tongue. Once you see it, you just can’t help but to smile or laugh.
We were able to have jorden at our house quite a bit and I got the opportunity to be there for a lot of his “firsts”, first time rolling over, crawling, walking, and his very first word.
As an aunt, those are pretty big things. The only problem with it all, was that I never knew when I would get to see Jorden next. My family could get him every weekend for a month or two and then go another few months without seeing him. It always seemed as if his mom was playing a game and using Jorden as the pawn piece. She would say that we couldn’t see him because of this but once she got what she wanted Jorden was free to go wherever. When you’re that close to someone, especially a child at his age, it’s hard to see that
happen.
I’ve always been a firm believer of the saying “Everything happens for a reason” but this situation has made me question that saying and just giving me tons of questions to ask, in general. The main question i’ve had this whole time is “Why is Jorden and the best people in his life being punished?”
We have tried numerous things to get to see Jorden. Some of the ways worked for awhile, but now, we are at a point where we really can’t do much else. My parents talked to a lawyer about getting custody of Jorden, or even weekend visits, but; sadly, in Iowa my parents can’t get grandparents rights, which are rights that grandparents can have to see their grandchildren. Iowa is one of the few states who don’t allow these types of rights.
I have gotten to the point now, that I just know it’s going to be awhile before I can see him and his adorable smile again. I have caught myself multiple times just looking at my pictures of Jorden and wishing that I could have him with me for just one weekend.
Not being able to see Jorden or talk to him has been quite a difficult situation that I have been trying to get through. I’ve been coping with the situation by just hoping and trying to know that eventually in the future I will get to see him again. I know this, because of the saying “Every storm runs out of rain and then comes the sunshine”. If I ever miss him, I know that I can just look at our hundreds of pictures, that we have together, and there will be an instant smile.