I was always the only child. I was always the one being taken care of, the attention was always mine. I never suspected for that to change. I never learned how to take care of people either. I always thought that that was a skill that you figured out when you grew up.  Little did I know, all of those things were going to change when I turned twelve.

I was in the living room, watching tv and minding my own business when my mom casually walked in the room. She sat down and told me she needed to tell me something. She hesitated, which was unusual because my mom is NEVER nervous. As a matter of fact, she is always confident in what she has to say and never holds back on anything, which made her hesitation shocking. After what felt like eons later, mom finally started to talk.

“Destiny, I don’t know how to say this but… you’re going to be a big sister because I’m pregnant.”

I don’t know what was going on with me, but it was like I lost the ability to speak. On one hand, I was very happy because I would finally be able to know what it was like to have a sibling. Even though most siblings aren’t happy about this, I was glad the attention would get divided because I wouldn’t get caught doing some things (which by the way, isn’t true because my mom knows everything). But, I also knew there was going to be a BIG responsibility with having a little sibling like changing diapers, feeding him, and worst of all, babysitting and taking care of him. I was an only child for 11 YEARS STRAIGHT! How was I going to do this?

Seven quick months and four overdue days later, my little brother was officially on the Earth. I remember the beaming faces when everyone saw his picture. I remember all the stuffed animals our family sent, the text messages asking how he was, and how many people were asking for pictures. We were all planning on going home and taking care of him when all of a sudden, my mom’s job called with bad news. Apparently, because someone quit, my mom had to go back to work and couldn’t take an extra week of maternity leave unless she wanted to lose her job. My stepfather couldn’t call off of work and no one was available to watch the baby. The look on their faces was something I’d never seen before. It was like they were scared but in a nervous kind of way. It was very surprising seeing that expression on my mom’s face because she is one of the most fearless people I know. Seriously, she is the type of person to smile on The Superman roller coaster.

Sadly, I had to watch the baby. My mom told me I had to put exactly 4 ounces of milk in the bottle and to only give him one every hour. She told me that I had to always check if his diaper was full. She also told me that he had to be in bed by 7:30. On the outside, I seemed like I was ready but on the inside… not so much. My heart dropped and I started to have my usual very pessimistic thoughts I always have when I’m nervous. I knew I was setting myself up for failure and that I wouldn’t be able to take care of my brother. But, when I babysat him, all that negativity went away. I gave him his milk, changed his diaper, and had him asleep by 7:30. He didn’t even cry that much.

Maybe I did know how to take care of others back then and I just didn’t know it.