The Cool and Hip Aunt Day

Growing up my family was a fairly conservative Hispanic family.  Sleepovers were not allowed because that was considered inappropriate behavior. Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” song was a constant hymn. My mother never had a single drop of alcohol in her life. Even cooking with wine or brandy was heavily frowned upon. Although, eventually my mother stopped twitching when she saw me as an adult ordering a cocktail at dinner.

My aunt was also as conservative as my mother but somehow she was slightly hipper. She wore makeup and dressed up her outfits so that she looked like a Latina older fashionista. My mother never learned to drive. My aunt got her driver’s license late in life at the age of 50. However, she did get it.  Now my aunt has friended me on Facebook and “likes” my stream of cocktail photos.  My aunt was the hip sister.

Not only was my aunt hipper than my mother but she was also there for me as a second mother. She was always kind and looked out for me.  When I was poor and couch-surfing, her house was mine. Now that my mother has passed, she is what I have left. She is the one I call on Mother’s Day.  She deserves her own celebration as an aunt.

I am too am an aunt now. I definitely am way hipper than my sister. I am hoping to have my nieces over for the summer when they are slightly older so that I can introduce them to some cooler points of view. Of course, not going against my sister’s teachings and values. I just want to present a slightly different world. I want to show my nieces that it is fun to travel far and wide.  At the moment my sister is still skeptical of far-out travel.  Driving by car for two hours is considered a long excursion. I would love to take my niece on one of my cross-country trips that take seven days.  Although, I will admit that I can wait until she is over the “are we there yet” phase.

I want to introduce my niece to spicy food. I want to show my niece different cultures, languages and people.  My older niece (the same age as my son-only two months older) already dresses like a rocker. She most definitely did not get that from my sister. I want to introduce my niece to Nine Inch Nails and the Cure. And when she is older, way older, I can share with her a small glass of wine at dinner. I’d like to show her that one can be a cultured smarty-pants with a sense of style. At the end of the day, I’d like to be there for her should she ever need a helping hand.

Let’s hear it for the Hip Aunts out there!

Some other Word press Thoughts

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