The importance of Aunt L.

I come from a very small family.  My mother was an only child.  For all intents and purposes I don't have a dad.  I have one sibling.  I'm estranged from both my mom and my brother.  So, when it comes to my side of the family, Kidlette is kind of out of luck.

G. has two awesome brothers, who both adore Kidlette.  He also has a great mom and dad, who are very involved and caring grandparents.  There she lucked out.

What I have is a great friend.  She is like the sister I never had.  She is a great listener.  She is very caring.  She is the only person who cried when told I was pregnant with Kidlette.

We call her Aunt L.  She did a terrific job raising her daughter, and I've taken a lot of cues from her.  She is my daughter's guardian.  She is an important part of our lives.

I believe that a child can never have too many caring adults in her life.  My goal with Aunt L. is to give Kidlette someone outside of our family structure who she trusts and who will listen and who loves her.  Right now Aunt L. is someone who will let her stay up late and eat ketchup sandwiches.  At 13 Aunt L. will be someone to talk to when she can't talk to me.  At 18 Aunt L. will be someone to trust, if she can't trust me.  At 20, 23, 30... I hope and believe that Aunt L. will be as important in Kidlette's life as she has been in mine.

I didn't have anyone like Aunt L. in my life as a child, and there were times when I could have really used a sane adult.  This is my gift to my child.  And this is my gift to my friend - I love you and trust you with my child.

Do you have an Aunt L. in your life?