Replacement Parents

I just remembered when Anita (my oldest girl) was 7ish. One day she came out of the blue and asked:

- Mum, if you and dad die, who will be my replacement parents?

Of course I had no answer to this question. I had not planned dying, let alone giving my children away. I can only imagine one couple who is capable of raising Anita and Lia. Us, of course. Their parents. No one else.

But Anita, who never let anything go easily, kept asking the same question over and over, until I decided to have one of those long conversations with Fabio. Who on Earth would be good enough to raise our little princesses, in case we both kicked the bucket at once?

The thought of having our parents raising them was quickly discarded. There is a reason for the expression "raised by grandma"...

If we were proper catholics, we would just make sure the God parents were "ït". There are several problems with this option, though. The most important one is the fact that Anita and Lia have different God parents. No way we would consider splitting them. Another one is that we did not choose couples for the task. I chose the God mother and fabio the God father.

I am the only child. No brothers or sisters to call on.

Fabio has two brothers. One is a delightful guy, who was almost 40 and just refuses to take things seriously. I don't believe he is going to become ana dult anytime soon. Don't take me wrong. He is wonderful. And a great professional. We could imagine him taking the girls out, having lots of fun with them, but I don't think they would ever have to wash behind their ears.

Lucky for us, Fabio has another brother. The one that check all the proper parenting boxes. He has two gorgeous girls who are well balanced, well structured and seem happy enough. His wife is Lia's God mother. It all seem to fit.

We spoke to him. Told him to discuss the matter with his wife and give us an answer. If they agreed, we would craft a will, where we would leave our most precious "assets" under their care, in case we passed away.

It did not take long for them to accept the "job". They called back saying they would raise our kids as their own. And we indeed registered our will.

Anita, only 7 was not afraid of death, her biggest concern was with the future and what would happen to her and her sister, if something went terribly wrong. We got it sorted out for her, and I confess it makes me a bit more comfortable, knowing they will be ok, if we just leave without notice.