It is standard fare, every auntie is proud of her nephew or niece. They carry pictures in their wallet and use them as wall paper on their cell phones. i am not certain when i first noticed the universality of that statement in others. But i do remember when it happened to me. It was about nine years ago when i first became an auntie myself to Elijah Kirk Racadios Santos, son of my one and only Kuya. Elijah from the Old Testament biblical prophet and Kirk from James Tiberius Kirk of Star Trek. The kid’s really out of this world!  When he was born, i felt that flutter in my heart that is probably the closest i will ever get to what mothers feel. He was just the sweetest and craziest little baby boy on the planet.

And then he grew up. He went from one fetish to another – fountains, flags and butterflies to his current fascination with Catholic saints and the various Marian expressions. And when he latches onto something, he rules! Proof? During his school’s boys pageant, his talent was a five minute lecture on Our Lady of Lourdes – with matching visual aids he himself made. He even had a pointer! Every one else sang or danced or dribbled. He stood there utterly confident in all the information he had, not in his notes but in his head. If no one had stopped him, he could have gone on for at least five more minutes with even more details and historical facts right at his finger tips. So, of course, he won the Mister Villa Saint John Academy title, Best in Costume and Best in Talent portions.

About eight years later, Santiani Zuri came along. And she is just a sweetheart! How can a child do that, just sit or lie down on the bed, drool and just absolutely take my breath away? She has not said two understandable words to me but her eyes have a vocabulary that knows all the ways to say, “Aint i cute and loveable?” So i confess i have gone the way many others have gone before me, i am a shameless boaster about my pamangkins, as if there could no one cuter than them. Fortunately for me, i actually have other people (non-reliatives) saying the same thing. Meals at restaurants earn many stares and hands waved in greeting to either Kirk or Zuri. Elijah is old enough to believe that it is appropriate behavior for him to wave back at his admirers. Zuri will catch up in time, i know.

For now, i am grateful i have joined the herd of proud aunts (and yes, uncles) who blab on (or blog on) about those little darlings in their lives. Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve become, okay? Maybe you could just join me in prayer instead? “Heavenly Father, You authored the lives of these two young children. i ask that You help me to be the best kind of auntie to them that i can possibly be. So that in the few times that i am able to spend with them, they will remember me as a loving yet firm, fun yet faith-filled aunt. Lord, help me plant just enough seeds in their hearts so that when they are able to make an informed personal choice in the future, they will choose faith in You as something no one forced on them or merely passed on to them, but rather something they have consciously grasped knowing it is true. Amen.”

And i do pray for you too, that you will be that godly and wacky auntie or uncle God can enable you to be. Yes, Lord!

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