The Greatest Title Ever: Aunt

This is a really old photo of my youngest nephew and I.

My sister's first job was babysitting. She watched over youngsters who lived up and down our street. Jumping forward a few years, Kim worked at a school and would talk lovingly about a vivacious little boy who was under her supervision. Then she became a mother herself.

Me-I never babysat. My first paying job was a sales clerk at a store called Holiday Fantasies. Although I would point out this job came parallel to working as an editor for my college newspaper. The maternal avenue hasn't crossed my path.

But Kim gave me a true gift. She bestowed the title of aunt to me and I couldn't ask for anything more.  It is the best job ever; partly because it allows me to do the one thing I never thought I would want to do-babysit.

I used to watch my sister's children while she taught a ballet class for adults on Tuesday nights. It was a total blast. We would play charades and board games, read Calvin and Hobbs comic books and sometimes watch a TV show narrated by Joan Cusack with characters shaped like gumdrops. I remember my youngest nephew had to be carried to the bathroom in order to brush his teeth. He would smile grandly all the way down the hallway to the bathroom.

But time moves on and everyone has gotten older. My oldest nephew is now 14 and my niece took first aid training to be a babysitter herself. They don't really need my supervision. I will still happily give it though.  On a recent evening, my sister went to see a play and I came over to "hang out" with the kids.

I brought multiple cartons of Ben and Jerry ice cream and when my sister drove off my niece put on "The Greatest Showman." We sat on the couch with bowls ice cream and listened to Hugh Jackman belt out ballads as my niece sang along with him. Wedged between my niece and my youngest nephew, balancing a bowl of ice cream on my lap with my sister's puppy, Chaco, occasionally trying to nip my feet, I thought, "it doesn't get any better than this."

And it truly doesn't.