Whenever I look at my niece’s eyes, I see a little person who is so innocent, so pure. Someone who has never had their heart broken. Someone with so much potential to change this world for the better.
Whenever I hear my niece’s voice, in that soft little voice I hear determination and willpower, as if in that little 2-year-old body there is someone who knows better and is more courageous than any one of us. And when I hold my niece in my arms, I can feel she trusts me that I’ll never let her fall. And then I think, how beautiful it is to trust someone and not be afraid of falling.
As for me, I know how it is to be the youngest one in the family. You always have privileges, and everyone is just looking for more and more ways to spoil you and make you happy. I still remember the presents I got, and the on-going feeling that there was always someone to take care of me. That’s why when my brother was born, I was a little bit jealous for no longer being the center of attention. But then, when I got to hold him in my arms everything changed, and I realized that I got a friend for life.
That was one moment that changed my perception of things, even though I was little and I wasn’t aware of it. The other moment was the day I became an aunt.
But the day my niece was born, she changed me for the better. I didn’t have any idea that I was capable of loving someone so much. I finally understood what it means to love someone unconditionally. Whenever I hold her in my arms, my heart is filling with so much warmth and love that makes me forget about my troubles and relieves my pain. My niece is my medicine.
And when I notice the way she looks at me when I come to see her, when I see her happiness and excitement in her ways when she sees my face… that feeling is irreplaceable. She always tells me that she wants to be like when she grows up. She wants to wear my high heels and she is always complimenting my dresses and makeup.
That’s the most wonderful thing in the world – to have someone see you as the most perfect person that can do no wrong. Someone who wishes to be like you. And I want to be the person she believes I am.
Then I think… there is so much to learn from a little girl in a chocolate-stained dress and pink bows in her hair. She is smarter than we think. She absorbs everything. She notices details. She really listens.
One day she will become a woman, molded by the hands who feed her, hold her, and raise her. Therefore, give her all the cookies she wants. Kiss her and hug her. Hold her tight into your arms and tell her bedtime stories. Inspire her to become anything she wants.
And I wonder, will she remember me when she replaces her Barbie dolls for car keys and a job? What memories will she have of me? I want us to be close forever close. Being an aunt is the most amazing thing in the world and I hope I’ll continue being the coolest aunt she adores.
