i'm gonna be an aunt!!

it was a typical college afternoon. i was simply sitting at my desk, working diligently on what i'm sure was a well thought out, reasonably argued paper with quite profound depth and insight while listening to various concertos. yes, that is how i remember school to be.

suddenly my door burst open as a close friend of mine, mike, came rushing towards me with the type of excitement only matched by elementary-aged children on Christmas morning. without an inch of composure, mike blurts out the following sentence:

"I'M GONNA BE AN AUNT!!!!"

i was confused, mainly due to gender related reasons. trying to slow him down, make him think about what he was saying, i asked him to repeat his sentence.

this second attempt was the same. mike, my clearly male friend, was going to be an aunt. i asked him to explain.

"my brother and his wife are having a little baby girl. I'M GONNA BE AN AUNT!"

"ohhhh, i see where you're confused, mike." i try to inform him about how this whole family tree thing works. "you'll be an uncle, always an uncle. you'll have a niece. if it were a boy, you'd have an nephew and you'd still be an uncle. the terms uncle and aunt are relative to your sex."

i think he knew he had it wrong. he simply didn't care, telling me so. in fact, he left the room with the same energy he entered. on the way out he offered me one more "i'm gonna be an aunt." i'm sure he went on down the hall, interrupting hard-at-work samford-ites, confusing every last one of them with his proud declaration.

so in honor of mike's gusto and joy let me join him in his cry: I'M GONNA BE AN AUNT! my own brother and sister-in-law are having a baby girl: addison (not sure if that's spelled correctly).

it is nice having people around you that have the capacity to be so happy that simple things like gender-appropriate terms for family relationship get lost in the joy. i've always been more stoic than i'd like to be, which sometimes looks like me not being happy. but it genuinely does make me happy to see my friends and family doing well and enjoying life, not caring about much else.

i was asked, not long ago, what kind of thing makes me happy. this is right up there at the top of the list. i love seeing people filled with joy. i feed off that. i've found nothing better than seeing people genuinely content, especially when it is in Christ. it is amazing the type of energy people with this type of joy will inspire in everyone around them.

i aim for that in my own life. i desire that "i'm gonna be an aunt" joy in my life all the time. as far as i know, the best source for that is the Author of Life, the One who came that we might have life, and have it to the fullest. so i'll, seek that.

besides, it is too much to ask of my siblings to constantly be having kids. it just doesn't make any fiscal sense, not with the economy as it is and gas prices.....oy vey. (please excuse the yiddish)