You probably must have read about the cost of being a great mum. Better still, there are numerous articles written on how to be a great dad. But what is the cost of being a great aunt?When my big sister announced she was expecting a child, i met this with mixed feelings.I did not know what to expect. The next nine months were hectic for me, i planed on what songs i was going to teach the child, the poems,the nicknames and even how i wanted her to pronounce my names.
Then came the due day. As fate would have it, i was left all alone with my sister when she got into labor. After a long battle came the end product. I cant tell you i loved the dark hairy thing i held in my arms. No, not even once. I was there for about seven days, even for her naming ceremony, before i finally came to Uganda for my A levels.i can assure you i felt absolutely no love. In fact, i failed to associate her with our family, she had followed the footprints of Njeri, and was the dark sheep of the family.
However, being an aunt is the greatest thing that had ever happened to me. Apart from the many times when i had to scream at her or beat her like crazy, my greatest joy comes when she tells me that i am the best aunt in the world. Better still, i remember the days when i was chucked and she would sit besides me and wipe all my tears, telling me that uncle Peter does not know what he is loosing. Worse still, i remember how she went and told her school teacher that her best friend was in Makerere and she was the aunt.
So, whats the cost of being a great aunt. Is it all about teaching her good songs, buying her bicycles and toys, new dresses and story books? Or is it about teaching her to believe in a God even when you are too weak to believe in Him yourself? Is it all about teaching a baby to love the world that has taught you to despise yourself,or to believe the fact that life is an echo, what you give is what you get, despite the numerous times that you have given life your absolute best and got the worst? Better still, is being an aunt trying to explain why you think its okay for God to forgive Osama even when Nicole thinks you and God are crazy?
Being an aunt is fantastic, i believe one of the small things in life that should be treasured. But i believe that being an aunt is having the ability to teach our nieces the most important thing in life: that they have a right to love not only others but themselves and they can be anything they set their minds to.
that is what intend to ensure my niece grows up to know
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