Almost an Auntie

Any day now I am going to become an Auntie! Within the next 7 days (hopefully!), my sister-in-law will be giving birth to what I am sure will be the most beautiful baby girl that has ever been born!

My SIL and I have been waiting for this moment, probably since she got engaged to my brother! My mom, on the other hand, has been waiting for this her whole life! The next generation in our family is upon us and I know we all truly couldn't feel more blessed.

Being an Auntie is going to be so fun!!! I especially feel lucky that I will be an Auntie before I am a mom. I think it's better this way because, duh, hand-me-downs, haha! Just kidding, kind of. For real though, I'll really get to focus on helping my SIL and being there for my niece, I simply cannot wait!

All of this has got me thinking, what does it really mean to be an Auntie? I know I will be there to love and support this child, along with my brother and SIL. It's so much more than that though. A relationship between and Auntie and her niece is a treasured thing. You can be so many things to this little girl all at the same time. How does one even know where to start? Luckily, I had many amazing experiences with my own Aunties to help me figure it out.

- Being an Auntie means brushing your niece's hair when she complains that her mom is too rough.
- Being an Auntie means letting your niece wear your fancy earings whenever you come and visit.
- An Auntie is there to back up the mom when the child gets unruly.
- An Auntie will take her niece for the night, weekend or week when the parents need to get out of town.
- An Auntie will try to get her niece to eat brussel sprouts.
- Being an Auntie means letting your niece stay with you on spring break (bonus points if you live somewhere tropical)!
- An Auntie will leave her niece a note when she thinks her bedroom is far too messy - and offer to help with the cleaning and reorganizing.
- An Auntie will make you special food without onions.
- Above all else, being an Auntie means being a friend.

I am so greatful for all of my fabulous Aunties who've taught me everything I know about this job.

Love you all!

"Only an Auntie can spoil you like a Grandma, love you like a Mom and keep secrets like a Best Friend."