Rebecca Meyer
This man’s brother and his sister-in-law have two daughters, 10 and 13. His brother’s family lives in a suburban neighborhood about an hour away.
Unfortunately, his sister-in-law’s family stopped speaking to her when she married his brother because of the religious differences between their families.
Because of this, he and his mother are the only extended family that his nieces have.
Recently, his nieces have added him and his mother to a group chat, and they text them about two or three times a week. About once a week, his nieces send FaceTime requests to him and his mother.
“I find this level of interaction overwhelming, as I typically prefer to engage with kids during planned visits,” he said.
Over time, the texts from his nieces lessened.
“My role as an uncle has traditionally involved attending birthday parties, giving generous gifts, and spending one holiday together each year,” he explained.
He plans to spend more time with his nieces as they grow up, most likely when they’re adults. But right now, he doesn’t feel like he wants to spend a lot of time with them.
His mother feels the same way he does about the frequency of texts and FaceTime requests from his nieces.
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