I’m so excited to have our very first guest post from my dear sister Sarah. She has always been a wonderful sister and friend and she’s also a pretty amazing aunt.
Twelve years. That’s how long I had waited to become an aunt. I had my oldest son when I was in college and my sisters were in high school. As you can imagine, they were pretty cool aunts for a little boy to have (still loving to act like kids themselves). Six years later we had a daughter. Another almost two years later and another daughter. And again just shy of two more years, another son. And my sisters continued to be awesome, fun, wonderful aunts. It seemed like a pretty sweet role. But here I was with four kids and still no nieces or nephews.
Then my sister, Lee, gave me the great news. I was finally going to be an aunt! A niece would arrive and she was/is pretty incredible (probably one of the most clever and entertaining kids I’ve met). Surely there was some spoiling to pay back.
To make things even better, a few months later my sister, Hannah, announced she too was having a baby. Aunt again! And this time a nephew! He snuck in quietly overnight so we headed that way on the morning of July 10 (bonus for me because now I got to see my sister on her 30th birthday!). I couldn’t wait (but would have to because I rode with my parents…and it was morning…which meant we could stop for breakfast). So we finally arrived at the hospital with full bellies and so much excitement to meet my first nephew, Gage Michael Wingo.
He was so tiny. Hannah was past her due date and had a pretty great pregnancy (as far as pregnancies go) so we were not expecting this tiny little guy. I think he was having a little trouble keeping his body temperature up so we didn’t get to pass him around as much as we would have liked, but he looked perfect and Hannah looked absolutely perfect being his mommy.
I can’t say I remember all the details of how things unfolded. Questions. Requests for prayer. Tests. More questions. More prayer. CMV diagnosis. More questions. I remember Hannah seeming a little scared but also so excited and in love with her little boy that it was as if she couldn’t see any differences or concerns. And who was I to question any of it?
The job I’d waited more than 12 years to have and now I felt completely inadequate for my title of “aunt.” I had four healthy kids and wasn’t sure what to do or say or ask about my sweet nephew’s special needs, nor my incredible sister’s joys and fears and reality. I felt unprepared and ill-equipped. How could I relate?
I told my friend (whose daughter, Eliana, was born with a rare genetic mutation the year before) how I was feeling. She gave me some great advice and perspective. And she reached out to Hannah to offer a kind of support and understanding I never could.
The thing is, when I stop worrying about not knowing what to say or do and just focus on loving and celebrating my amazing nephew and his mommy, it’s really not so complicated. Gage is such a blessing! Have you seen that smile? Those dreamy eyes? Heard that contagious laugh? How can you not be happy in his presence? I know I spend way too much time wrapped up in trivial things. Slowing down to just be with fantastic kids like Gage and Eliana–to appreciate how strong and wonderful these incredible little fighters are–is a perfect reminder of how imperfectly beautiful life truly is.
Being an aunt is truly a blessing. You girls were like nieces to me and are all pretty awesome! My nieces and nephews are some of my best friends and as most have started families of their own, I now have been granted the new title of ‘great aunt’! My heart runneth over!