Children change everything—people gain titles that they didn’t have before, mother, father, brother, sister, etc. For me, I gained the title of Aunt. There aren’t words to describe how the world changes after hours spent in a waiting room to meet a single soul that becomes the center of everyone’s universe. It’s as if the moments before that seem impossible. It’s absurd to think that the world somehow spun before this child existed.
When my sister made me an aunt, she gave me more than just a nephew to love unconditionally. She gave me a reflection, someone to see myself in when I look into his beautiful eyes. I see my chin, smile, and facial expressions. I look at this tiny person and marvel at the fact that we share so much already. People often times throw around the L word, saying it too often and taking it back later. When I held my nephew for the first time, there was no doubt in my heart. It was instantaneous and overwhelming, and when I told him that I love him, I meant it with every fiber of my being.
When my sister was in labor, she was sleeping with the machines hooked up to her monitoring my nephew’s heartbeat. We could hear the rhythmic beating of his heart as he prepared to enter this world. As I was getting ready to head to work, I heard a cry coming from the machines. I looked to my brother-in-law who seemed as perplexed as I was. Then it happened again—my nephew cried a soft noise that came through the machines and seeped directly into my heart. It was a beautiful sound, so perfect and innocent.
I once thought that I knew what being an aunt meant. I assumed it was being cool, fun, and giving the child whatever their parents wouldn’t. Then my nephew was born, and that definition changed. Being an aunt is memorizing the way their arms move and their fingers curl around your thumb. It’s watching them hang onto your every word as you sing off pitch to get them to sleep. It’s wanting to give them the world, not to be cool or fun, but to give them as much happiness as humanly possible. It is vowing to protect them and always give them a safe place to come to. Being an aunt means passing on knowledge and teaching them all that they need to know to face the world. Being an aunt isn’t about being cool or fun, though it doesn’t hurt to be those things. It is about being their protector, teacher, confidant, friend, and family. Being an aunt is a blessing that starts with a single cry.
To my sister and brother-in-law, thank you for blessing me with my handsome nephew. I vow to love, protect, and nurture him for as long as I live. You have changed my world, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love you—thank you for making me an aunt.
