Auntiferous

My nephew is now expected to arrive on Friday. All four grandparents and I are planning on being at the hospital for the Blessed Event.

I was never baby-crazy, but since I received the news that I would be an aunt, I've really been looking forward to having a kid to mess up. I have stupid jokes I want to teach him. And, as I think about it, I realize kids and I like a lot of the same things: Candy, crayons, cartoons. That should occupy some fun days out. And then I can drop him back off with his parents. "OK, so he's had a gallon of ice cream, and then we rode the Tilt-a-Whirl. He could use a good hosing down and probably a trip to the dentist. Bye!"

If I ever become a mom, I'll have to get my act together. But when you're an aunt, you get to be eccentric. I can fly around the world, have exotic pets, wear big hats, buy him noisy presents. This kid's gonna love me.

On a more serious note, though, it's gotta be good for a kid to have a whole ring of (mostly) responsible adults who love him and have his best interests at heart. I'd like to be the kind of aunt he can talk to when he likes a girl or gets into trouble (hopefully not in the same conversation). And if he turns out to be shy and nerdy, he'll have a grown-up to relate to ;-).

Before all that happens, though, his parents will need extra hands to change diapers. So here's to being barfed and pooped on. Stinkiness, here I come!