Ranaynay

The next and last one in line is Raneem, the biggest helper and troublemaker in the house(can that even be possible?) She has a very strong personality and boy, if she wants to do something she’s gonna strive for it whether you like it or not. She's also the type of person if you ever need help around the house just call her and she’ll be more than willing to help. On the other hand, when she doesn't feel like doing something, that usually means she's in a pretty good mood to start a heated argument with you.

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My parents left me to deal with her over the course of their vacation. They didn’t even think about hiring a nanny or sending her off to stay with my uncle or grandpa where they could control her. Her attitude that she carried once my parents left made me quite frightened by her willingness to do whatever she wants. The following happened days after my parents' departure:

Raneem:(has her arms folded across her chest, staring right at me) Okay, so you obviously know that Mama and Baba left and they said you’re in charge of us but that doesn’t mean you can make me do whatever you want me to do. I’m only going to listen to you because I promised Mama I wouldn’t cause any trouble. But you can’t boss me around!

Me: (What-am-I-supposed-to-say-to-this look on my face.)
Let me remind you with some details. I’m the eldest child and I’m about to become a junior in high school and Raneem is only nine years old and going into fourth grade. That just really shows her confidence. But just because I was supposed to be the mature one around and since my parents had only left for a couple of days, I decided to say:
Okay Raneem, I know I’m not the boss and I’m going to try my best not to boss you around. But you also have to cooperate with me. If I need help around the house, I’m not bossing you by telling you to clean the house if I’m cleaning it with you. I’ll do my best to make it really fun though if you do listen to me. Let’s get ready to go to the masjid* soon, I need at least 3 empty parking spots to know how to park the car.
Raneem: Okay, but don’t forget what I told you.

So that’s one of the characteristics of Raneem’s personality. She’s very strong which is something I (sometimes) admire about her but overall she is a sweet girl. Except when I call her Ranaynay, which is her nickname given by me whenever I want to annoy her.

*Masjid means mosque in Arabic