Aunts all over the world seem to be under appreciated. I never realized this until the day that I myself became an aunt. Although my niece is not even 1-year-old yet, and she cannot truly appreciate the love that both my sisters and I give to her, I have realized one important thing. Aunts love you more than you will ever know.
Now let me throw out there, that as a 19-year-old aunt, I don’t have the means to go out and spoil my niece; but I can assure you that it is hard to not spend my entire paycheck on her because I wish that I could. Although I do not materialistically spoil her, I do spoil her with my love. I did not expect to be an aunt this young but I can truly say that it is a very eye opening experience.
If I did not want kids before, I sure do now. It’s so fun to just have a little human to hang out with, and it is much more entertaining than watching Netflix (not that I don’t love Netflix, because who doesn’t?). I have become jealous of my sister Jasmine (the mother of my niece) because of the fact that my niece Aaliyah loves her so dearly. Watching a child interact with their mother is mind-blowing to me because the love practically radiates off of the baby. Even when Aaliyah’s mom just walks into the room, her eyes light right up. I cannot wait to have an experience of my own similar to that.
Until I became an aunt, it never occurred to me that aunts love their nieces as much as they do. Sure my aunts might live in places far away from me such as California, Utah, Georgia, etc. but now I am able to realize the fact that distance does not change the amount of love that someone can have for you. I live in Erie, PA for school, and only get to see my niece when I come back to Buffalo, NY for breaks, but I promise that I do not love her any less than her other aunts. As some may say, distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?
As a child, I could never wait to grow up, but once I actually began to grow up I instantly wanted to go back to being young. I look forward to my niece growing up, although I almost never want her to grow up because I’ll get to relive a little bit of my childhood with her. Playing games with her and going to the park are some of the few things that I am beyond excited for when she can finally walk, which she can already almost do!
Watching a human develop is absolutely insane because you never realize how quickly it actually happens. It has almost been a year since my niece was born and she has grown so rapidly. It has yet to seize surprising me how the human body can just continuously grow. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I am a biology major—but regardless, it is still cool!
If you are reading this, before you become an aunt or a mother, just know this. You have not experienced life until you have been blessed enough to care and love for another human as much as aunts and mothers love their nieces and children. There is nothing in the world that can compare to that kind of love. Now, if you are reading this and you are already an aunt or a mother, thank you for all that you do. You deserve all of the gratitude in the world for giving a child the love and care that they need.
