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Home > Blogs > Adventures in Motherhood > Archives > 2009 > September > 10 > Entry
Freedom, fun in being an aunt or uncle
Nothing tops being a mom, but (at least until I become a grandmother) being an aunt is a close second on the dear-to-the-heart scale.
I am lucky enough to have eight nieces and four nephews. And, although I have loved all of them always, it wasn’t until I had kids that I fully understood the extreme coolness factor of the whole aunt gig.
Before I had to care for my own pups, I didn’t realize how much these jelly-stained bundles of sunshine needed other adults in their lives to talk to, look out for and have fun with.
And I didn’t realize how wonderful it is to have them in my life as well.
I believe much of this delayed knowledge is due to the fact that, comparatively, being an aunt has a lot of the mom benefits, but very little of the responsibility.
As an aunt, you get to be in the life of this young person you love, offer candid and constructive advice you have culled from years of experience, and then not stress out if your “words of wisdom” are not heeded.
As a parent, it is assumed that your kids are supposed to listen to you, and you worry and then get upset if they don’t apply that knowledge.
As an aunt, you get to attend (to varying degrees, depending on how close you live) all the major milestones in your nieces’ and nephews’ lives, but you don’t have to organize or pay for any of them.
Also, as an aunt, you can come off sounding more exotic than their parents — even if you haven’t really earned that distinction.
You benefit from the fact that the kids have heard all their parents’ stories for years, and have long since tuned them out.
You can be silly with your nieces and nephews — oftentimes more so than you can be with your own kids.
Of course, it does seem like uncles enjoy this aspect even more than aunts. At least that is my experience after watching how my brothers and brothers-in-law deal with my sons.
Most of their conversations concern how much the kids’ favorite professional sports teams are going to lose this season, whether they saw the latest SpongeBob episode or making some random noise that elicits giggles about a Jim Carrey movie.
That’s if they talk at all — sometimes they just wrestle each other to the ground. And, I can see that that interaction is dear to my sons as well.
Recently, my older son told me not to worry about my next birthday, because he doesn’t think being in your 40s is so bad.
“Just look at Uncle Scott and Uncle Steve — they look like they’re having fun to me!” We aunts seem to be less about wrestling and more about hugs and talking.
And lately, I seem to be a niece magnet. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to talk to multiple nieces and have great conversations.
And some of the talks were ones I won’t get to have with my kids, since I don’t have daughters.
I got to instant message with my 17-year-old niece on Facebook about tattoos and college, discuss boyfriends and marching band with another niece who is 14, and hear about the predilections of hamsters from my niece who is 10.
What could be better than that?
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