Lying peacefully in her bed, in a dark room that she was sharing with her grandma and mom after a fun-filled girls night, was a happy, wide eyed little gal. She wasn't crying or moving around... In fact, if you didn't see her toothy smile through the little light that the crack in the door allowed, then you'd never know she was awake. I quietly opened the door for the third time since I woke up at 6:30 to see if the princess was awake yet. It felt like Christmas morning waiting for the entire family to wake up. I was fine to let her sleep however long she wanted, or needed to. So when I opened the door at 7:30, I finally heard a little "coo" that I took as "I'm awake, you can have me now". I picked her up and walked out of the room. She nuzzled her forehead between my neck and my shoulder as if all those years ago, I grew into a body that she would feel comfortable on. I gently tip toed down the hall way, into the living room housing the air mattress that I was sleeping on, with a big cozy comforter and the faintest light that the morning could offer. We snuggled for a few minutes until she was awake and ready to play. Shortly after, we were joined by aunt Ashley and together we followed her all through the house and let her get into whatever she wanted. We even let her spill a little cup of water on the ground because the smile it brought her from holding and drinking it herself was more worth it than not.
The rest of that Sunday morning I spent tirelessly chasing her around the house, and even outside. I didn't get a single sip of coffee, and I ate my breakfast while standing up in the middle of the kitchen while letting her have every other bite. I know that I'm not a mom, and I will forever have an immense amount of respect for every mom out there. But what I am is an aunt. I get to steal her for hours at a time, or have a morning with just the two of us that renews every downfall that I might have faced that week. I get to do 1% of what moms do and I make sure to take advantage of 100% of that time.
Sometimes I'll be on the phone, or Facetime with Jess or my mom and every once in a blue moon they'll say something along the lines of how rotten, or fussy she's been that day and I always come back with "oh, but she's so cute, how can you be mad?!" I think that should be the international slogans of aunts everywhere...
"They're so perfect, how could they do anything wrong?".
Being an aunt is the ultimate gift. Being an aunt to Lilah is something that I don't quite know how to put into words, but I'll forever keep trying to explain it until I can get it right. Watching my sister become a mom has made me a proud sister. Watching my mom be a grandma ensures that I'll never lose sight of my own childhood from when she was the best mom to us. I know Lilah is surrounded by pure, authentic and unrefined love and for someone who can't speak yet, she gives it all back in her own ways, that only she can do. I don't know if this is understandable to anyone who isn't an aunt, but it makes perfect sense to me.
I love being "aunt nae". It's held high as the best title I've ever had.
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