I think sometimes aunts and uncles get overlooked. We celebrate grandparents, and the role of mom and dad are pretty much a given. But aunts and uncles are major, important elements of the extended family and they have a special role in our children’s lives. Not to mention, as parents, if we are lucky enough to be an aunt or uncle too–it expands and enriches the ways we are able to interact with and know the younger generations.
Not only am I a mom, but I’m an aunt and a great-aunt. I’ve certainly not been the model aunt since I don’t live in the same city as my nieces and nephew, but I do cherish the role and love sending off cards signed “Aunt” before my first name. Even when my own kids think I am a dorky moron, my nieces and nephew still hold me in some esteem that comes from distance and the fact that I am NOT their parent.
My own kids are quite attached to their aunts and uncle–especially my sister who has a very unique and treasured place in our extended family. Nearly five years younger than me, she was still in college when my kids were born. Although I was a young mother, she was younger. She has remained unmarried and doesn’t yet have any children of her own and while she has always lived in different cities and even countries as a professional actor, my kids have spent a lot of time with her. She shares with them a different lifestyle, and a different approach to living than they see with either of their parents. She’s lived in big cities and brings them wonderful treasures from far-off places. They’ve even traveled to watch her perform. When they were preschoolers, she made them a video of her singing some of their favorite songs and reading favored stories. So even though she was far away, they could be with her every day.
Last year, my son went on a hunting trip with his uncle, my brother–something neither his dad, nor myself do (hunting). He was able to spend several days in the wilderness, separate from his parents, but still with family and experiencing and developing a side to him he wouldn’t otherwise be able to. My son has a relationship with his uncle that is both familial and individual.
Aunts and Uncles are a gift–more caring adults in a child’s life to provide both an extended envelope of family, and a bridge to the outside world. I believe that aunts and uncles help our kids develop an extended understanding of who they are and a deeper sense of both belonging and individuality.