30 People, Day 4: Aunt Lara

 

Shout-Out to my Aunt Lara, my role model as an aunt. Thanks for all the memories that make me smile. You used your eyeliner to paint my face like a kitty. You played Barbies with me and always seemed to actually have fun doing it. You sent me mail all the time – pictures that you drew with markers – and called me your “favorite nine(or whatever age I was)-year-old.” When I was an awkward tween, you let me come stay at your house with you and entertained me for a week every summer, which I only now realize was probably not convenient for you, but it was a childhood-highlight for me.

Now I’m an aunt to five little ones, and I want to be the same kind of aunt you were to me – one who sends mail and paints kitty faces and makes my nieces and nephew feel like they are my favorite four-year-old in the world.

Thanks for the inspiration to be the very best aunt I can be.

Challenge to readers:
In the comments below, give a shout-out to a favorite aunt, uncle, or cousin! Then tell them your appreciation in person.