Dynamic Christmas Love

Family Discussion: Ellie shares

"I had a boyfriend" Ellie revealed.

"You had a boyfriend?" Mary asked, shocked to find out.

"When did this happen?" Lamonte asked, Ellie sighed since she had to talk about her boyfriend again.

"His name is Brandon and we have been dating for three months now." She revealed more details.

"Three months? You decided to just tell us now?" Mary questioned her daughter.

"I did not know how to tell you all. I thought that if I told you all about my boyfriend, you would have disapproved of my relationship." She answered honestly.

"Why would you think that?" Lamonte asked.

"I thought that you two would have made the excuse that I'm too young to be falling in love with a boy. Plus, I thought you two would have told me to sorely focus on my education and not love." She explained, telling them exactly how she felt.

"Oh!" That was all Mary said. She knew that there were some truth to what her daughter was thinking. Ellie was just eleven years old, which was way too young for a girl to be falling in love. Mary does take education seriously and wants all her children to succeed. But she did not want to come off as aggressive and bring down the mood. So she had to put her pride aside and be understanding to her daughter.

"Are you two mad at me for having a boyfriend?" Ellie asked, feeling ashamed and embarrassed about telling them.

"Why we would be mad at you for that?" Mary asked, using a tone of voice letting her daughter know that she was not mad at her.

"I just thought that you would punish me for giving a boy all my love and attention instead of focusing on school." She replied.

"It hurts that you would think that we would react like that." Mary could not believe she would accuse them for behaving that way towards her.

"So, you two are not mad at me?" Ellie really wanted to know if everything was all good and there were no issues at all.

"No, we are not mad at you for having a boyfriend. I understand we can be strict and intimidating, but we're not monsters. We understand that love is essential in human nature and people can fall in love at any age." Mary told her.

"She's right. Love is strange. We can try our hardest to control emotions but when the heart wants something, it will not stop until it gets it. Eleven may be young to fall in love. But as long as you are prepared enough to handle being in a relationship and your boyfriend truly loves you, then there's nothing wrong with you falling in love." Lamonte chimed in.

Ellie felt happy that her parents were being understanding. She thought they were going to get angry at her and ground her for life. She loved the fact that her mother was not being aggressive like she usually does. There were several instances where she could have went off at them, but she did the opposite. Maybe, she had a change of heart. Ellie does not truly know how her mother was feeling, but she loved this side of her and hoped it stays like that.

"I appreciate you both for understanding. Sorry for judging and putting words into your mouths." Ellie told them.

"It is alright. Just remember that we are your parents, so do not be afraid to let us know how you all are feeling. There will be times that we will set ground rules, but that's because we only want the best for all our children." Mary told all her children.

"We understand. We appreciate you and Dad a lot!" Ellie told them, feeling good about herself.

"Is there anything else want to tell us about Brandon and your relationship?" Lamonte continued asking questions. Ellie did not feel comfortable talking about the fight she had with her boyfriend and she does not want to paint him in a bad light to her parents. Even though she did tell Ashley everything, that was different because they are sisters. Plus, she does not to ruin the positive mood that everyone was in. Maybe, another time she will tell them but not right now.

"I don't feel comfortable talking about Brandon right now. I will tell you more about him and our relationship another time." She honestly told them.

"That is perfectly fine. You don't have to tell else everything going on in your relationship. As long as you are happy, that's all we care about." Mary told her, Ellie felt happy.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!" Miguel wanted attention from the entire Bangura family. He was thinking that since everyone was sharing how they were feeling, he wanted to let his thoughts be known. He understood that he was a dog and humans won't be able to understand what he's saying. But he was going to try to get his message across.

"It looks like Miguel wants to tell us something. Let's give him our full attention. What's on your mind, Miguel?" Mary asked.