Life
My daughter has an abundance of amazing aunts. Three are related by blood and six by marriage. In Vietnamese culture, we use "auntie" pretty freely, so all my cousins are considered aunts, too. We have our Army family, my girlfriends from high school, and special ladies in our mommy group. She's certainly not lacking in strong female figures in her life, but I'd be remiss not to recognize the special role my sister plays. I figured I wasn't alone, so I asked moms to reveal the one characteristic that makes their sister their kid's best aunt.
My sister and I are 13 months apart to the day. Many people have mistaken us for twins (including her adorable mother-in-law). It probably doesn't help that we joke about our time in the womb together, to which our mother always responds, "How many times do I have to tell you you weren't in there at the same time?!" We were great playmates as kids, bitter enemies as tweens, and distant as teenagers, but we're best friends as adults. I think our relationship changed once we realized that we were better as a team — one fully functioning human being between the two of us. Is it any wonder then that she calls my kid her "daughter-niece?"
I think what makes my sister so great is her coolness factor. She'd give Pharrell a run for his money. My sister always has a line on the best books, TV shows, movies, and music. Her wardrobe is on point. She saves wildlife for a living. In other words, she's my goddamn hero. As an aunt, she's the kind of person who will run around the backyard with my daughter yelling, "Whoop whoop whoopity-whoo!" until they collapse on the lawn in hysterical laughter. She finds the best gifts, from an actual fox skull for baby girl's woodland nursery to a stuffed doughnut cat baptized by a hipster. She's the sh*t, and moms like me are fortunate to have our sisters by our sides.
Sarah
"The one characteristic that makes my sister the best aunt to my child is how selfless she is. No matter the time of day, how far apart we are, or what the situation is, she is there, no questions asked, to make sure my son and I have everything we need. I honestly don't know what I'd do without her."
Shannon
"My sisters are the best aunts because they would drop anything to watch my daughters or take them to the park. If my sitter cancels last minute, I know with out a doubt I can call them! They love being aunts!"
Jac
"I think as silly as it sounds, her characteristic of being the best auntie in the world is how much she loves my babies! She would move heaven and earth for them and loves them just as much as her own kid.
She also is one of the only ones who truly 'gets' them and what they need when they are having rough days. I also love that she's never afraid to play with them and get dirty; water and bubble fights galore happen on a regular basis! We are super blessed to have 'Aunnie Sis' in our lives."
Shay
"I believe my sister is the best aunt because she truly loves and treats my son like he is her own. She is the only person that he's spent over a week without his parents and even flown on an airplane with her. She also makes the best statements like, 'If you take my daughter, then I want my nephew.' She is obsessed with how incredible he is, and so are we.
She teaches him new things that we can't, like horseback riding and farming, and we have the same parenting style where she's not afraid to discipline (with love) my rambunctious 2 year old when he needs it. She's amazing, and we love her more than anything!"
Karla
"Just one?! My sisters are great aunts because they are loving, fun, caring, interested in my children's lives, and understanding and respectful of how we parent. They will be our go-to people when it comes time for school fundraisers!"
Su-Yen
"My sister is almost the complete opposite of me, but totally agrees with the way we parent. I guess the one characteristic that makes my sister my son's best aunt is that she is the definition of being a kid at heart. She gets on the ground and plays cars, goes outside and gets in the mud, and plays hide and go seek for half an hour with him because he wants to so badly.
Every time he wants to FaceTime his 'Teecha' and chat with her about stuff she can't comprehend (and even when she can't see his face because he's pointing the camera up his nose), she'll stay on as long as he wants. I can never fully express my gratitude for the love she has for him. "
Kelly
"My sister is more than just an aunt to my kids. She is their 'Mimi,' a second mom, and the person in life that loves them as much as I do. She doesn't hesitate to swoop them up, wipe boogers off their nose, quickly run them to the potty, clean up their messes, or redirect them when they need some guidance.
She is the first person they call when they have something exciting to share and the last one they pray for before falling asleep at night. When my kids were really little, they used to tell people they had two moms because my sister is that much a part of their life. Nothing better than an auntie."
Laura
"Even thought my sister has lived across the country for her entire 'tía-hood,' she has been a whole-hearted, unconditionally-loving tía. She jumps into playtime with both feet when she visits, doesn't hesitate to speak Spanish as best she can with the boys, and always enjoys a FaceTime call with her nephews. They adore their Tía and remember every detail of her visits. Most recently, they asked why we can't manually open our garage door 'like Tía's' — and that visit was over a year and a half ago!"
Sarah
"My sister has so much patience! Which is great because I tend to run out of it fairly quickly now that I'm a mom. My sister is the best aunt and we're all lucky to have her. She's going to be a great mom to her baby girl due soon!"
Anonymous
"My sister is my kid's best aunt because after many, many years, she has finally embraced having wavy hair. She is also good at eyeliner and nose booping. She has saint-like patience with my child, even when said child is trying to watch said aunt pee, or shower, or snoop through her mother's things. She is also a fabulous role model for my daughter. She demonstrates that even someone with mild-moderate-severe OCD and anxiety can eventually become a mildly-moderately-severely functioning human adult capable of doing things like adding broccoli to her boxed mac and cheese. And recycling."*
*Disclaimer: This may or may not have been written about herself by someone related to me, specifically a female sibling. I'll never tell. Sister code, obv.
