New Nephew and Honorary Aunts

My friends, Brad and Sherry, have the cutest, most adorable grandson-- Peyton. He is one of those kids that when you see his photo you wish you could reach out and hug him. I have six adorable nieces and nephews of my own (and I try to be "favorite aunt"), but I thought maybe Peyton's mom, Lindsay, would let me adopt him. I promised that I would be a good aunt :) So I have been officially granted "Honorary Aunt" status. "Favorite Aunt" status will be reserved for Peyton's Aunt Chelsea.

When I was growing up, we had an "Aunt Donna." Technically speaking, Aunt Donna was not our aunt. She was my mother’s college friend, who was, to her, more like a sister. To us, she was always “Aunt Donna.” Kind of like an honorary aunt. She would send us presents at Christmas. When she would visit we were sure to have fabulous meals, as she was a wonderful cook. She could sew up a new piece of clothing within a day. And she had an infectious laugh.

Aunt Donna died a few years ago. I have thought of her often. At times, I wish I could call her and ask advice. She taught me how to make her recipe for peanut butter- chocolate pinwheel cookies, for which my family and I will be forever grateful. However, I am most grateful for her example of how to live life with joy and happiness even when it does not turn out how you had planned. From Aunt Donna I learned that you can bless the lives of other people and in return receive great joy even though you are not a mother in the traditional sense of the word.