Sitting down to write my column this week finds me more tired than usual, but this time, it’s for a good reason.

I got to play “fun aunt” today with my nephews J and L. My nephews are awesome little kids and although I was just supposed to be responsible for dropping them off at school and picking them up, a surprise 2-hour delay gave us some more quality time together. It also served to remind me that although I loved the high energy day we ended up having, I have definitely graduated to the teenage pace of life.

Right off the bat, when I arrived to pick them up, we had to arrange for the transfer of the car seats. Thankfully, they’re both in booster seats now, and we didn’t have to play around with LATCH systems or 4-month-old Cheerio and goldfish cracker crust on the seats underneath, but it was still a production to plan out who was getting dropped off in what order so that we could arrange the seats accordingly.

I also had to make sure I could reach back to verify that seat belts were fastened correctly. I’d been debating downsizing our vehicle now that we no longer need 5 seats for extra tall people for every trip we take, but after our morning adventure, I think I’m going to hang on to that third-row seat for a little longer.

For the first hour, the big kids entertained the little kids and the little kids were quite excited to go through a drop-off line at the middle school and high school. But first, we had to make a stop for doughnuts! Fun Aunt Liz is all about the doughnuts. That lasted about 30 seconds, and then I caught a glance of L in the rear-view mirror.

I had completely forgotten how chocolate crumbly things like Oreos, or doughnuts, manage to multiply exponentially when chewed on by a small child. He had crumbs everywhere! Since he was two seats back, I couldn’t even wave a napkin around the back in his vicinity and hope to clean some of him off. Oh well, we had the two-hour delay to make a stop at home and get cleaned up.

Magically, (or maybe it’s just a question I don’t want the answer to) the crumbs managed to disappear by the time we got home and got settled. The boys were quite excited to hear that they had some time in front of the TV while I jumped on a work call.

A mild panic set in as I worried that having cut cable service a few years ago was about to bite me, but fortunately, I found the entire Sponge Bob series on Paramount+ and all was right in the under-8-universe for a little while.

I got finished with my meeting just in time to take J to school. Well, it would have been just in time had I not forgotten that this crowd needs help with the shoes and the coats. While I’ve learned to plan for the 10 trips the teenagers have to make back into the house for all the things they forgot, I’d completely forgotten what a production it is to get shoes on just right, not bunching up the socks, and getting them tied, and thanks to the weather, we had to lace up boots, not just sneakers.

We were about to run out the door when I realized no one was wearing a coat. As anyone who has had a teenager will tell you, they never wear coats. My “fine then freeze” attitude was not going to go over well with the nephews.

So, first we had to have a little scavenger hunt to remember where and when we took them off. Then, we had to go through a gymnastics routine to get everyone’s arms in the right sleeves.

Finally, I had to do zippers and buttons and hopefully not pinch anyone’s chins or fingers as I rushed through things. I know there was a time when I could have done that in triplicate in my sleep, but those skills were mighty rusty. At this point, I was pretty sure the boys were doubting their parents’ wisdom in leaving them with someone so incompetent, but they were easily bribed back to my side with a promise of an after-school treat.

I had a few child-free hours while they were at school, and I had to fight the urge to take a nap and rest up for the afternoon. I also had to make sure I set an alarm to remind me to pick them up. I wouldn’t be getting any of the impatient “why aren’t you here yet” texts that I get from the snotty teenagers. I also have to say that the novelty of having Aunt Liz pick them up earned me a way happier greeting than I’ve seen from any of my kids in close to a decade. Smiles and giggles were a nice change of pace from eye-rolls and popping earbuds in immediately.

We had time for a quick after school snack and one more episode of Sponge Bob and before we knew it, it was time for them to go home. Although I was sad that our “most of a day” together was at an end, I was relieved to see my brother pick up their shoes and start trying to wrestle them into them. I was also really happy that the sippy cups were going home with them instead of staying in my sink. I do not miss the sippy cup era at all.

It’s amazing to me how different I can be when I’m “fun aunt Liz” and not “overbearing, annoying Mom who is always nagging us.” It was a nice change of pace for both my nephews and me. It was also a nice reminder that while young kids are a ton of fun, maybe teenagers have a few redeeming qualities after all. Since I haven’t quite reached the “sugar them up and send them home” stage of fun yet, maybe I’ll be allowed to hang out with them again.

Liz Pinkey is a contributing columnist who appears weekly in the Times News.