Being th Aunt with No Kids

Being the aunt with no kids is like being a JV coach.

Really! Let me explain.

The aunt with no kids likes to take her nieces for overnight stays and on little outings a lot. We get to do fun stuff that may seem stressful to the parents.

Why?

Well, since I get to send my little nieces home after a while, they don't have time to sit and grind on my nerves. I don't have them often enough to properly nag them all the time. Kids are also usually more well-behaved for people other than their parents (probably just a change of pace thing). I picture my own future children as the naughtiest kids around (have you met my husband?) but hopefully they will be cute enough to get them out of some of that trouble!

How is this like a JV coach?

The JV coach gets to be the good guy. All the glory or the blame goes to the head coach. All the parent complaining goes to the head coach. And let's face it, the JV record is not nearly as important as the Varsity record. The JV coach is the one to smooth over ripples between the head coach and stubborn players. The JV coach is the cheerleader and the voice of reason to the kids. Because when the players are ticked at the Varsity coach, everything the coach says is "stupid" to them.

The aunt with no kids plays a similar role. She swoops in to do fun things and give the parents some valuable kid-free time. She is the rare disciplinarian (at least I am) because the kids are in a honeymoon phase for the day or two she has them. And when the kiddos get old enough to get ticked at their parents, the aunt with no kids gets to be the voice of reason and explain the parent's side of the situation to the kiddo and they actually listen (or pretend to).

I enjoy being the aunt with no kids to all my nieces. We get to have dance parties, go on "field trips" and picnics, and we always have popcorn with extra butter when we watch a movie. I just hope I'm still this fun when I have some kids of my own (but don't hold your breath).