California, Part I: Sister-Aunt

When most people first hear that I went on vacation to see my aunt, they usually raise an eyebrow. I’m sure this is because they are imagining a matronly, middle-aged aunt. In my case, my aunt, the Accidental Housewife, is only 7 years older than I am. And she spent a majority of every summer, if not the whole summer, at our house when I was growing up. When my mother, my aunt, and I would go out, people would inevitably stare as three red-heads are quite a sight. The brave would venture to ask us if we were related. I’m sure they were trying to figure out exactly how we were related, as the age differences made our relationships to one another difficult to determine. So the Accidental Housewife and I made up our own definitions. Hence, she is my sister-aunt and I am her sister-niece.

Growing up, the Accidental Housewife was my definition of cool. I loved when she would clean out her room because I always inherited fun stuff. I got all her Air Supply records when she downsized to cassette tapes, and then got the cassette tapes when she got tired of the group. I also got a wicked awesome Cyndi Lauper album which featured white high-heels with Starry, Starry Night by Van Gogh painted on the bottom as cover art. I wish that record hadn’t disappeared, because I spent hours listening to it, trying to be hip. I also remember getting a Wham! tape and a Madonna tape which my mother promptly threw out. It is a good thing she didn’t know what Cyndi Lauper’s She-Bop was about, or I wouldn’t have been able to keep that record either. I also got some great outfits until I doubled in size and at the age of 8 could no longer fit into my aunt’s size zero clothes. But I digress. The point being that I idolized my aunt and still remember how special I felt when she would do my long hair in massive curls and big bangs (oh, the 80s!) because she was spending time with me and on me. Sadly, she had to become a responsible adult and once she was out of school and had a career we could no longer spend the summers playing. Luckily, I went to college in Utah where she lived and since I was now the irresponsible student, we still had fun. Sadly that had to come to an end when I was forced to become a responsible adult and she moved to California.

Seeing as how it hasn’t been a particularly pleasant year for either she or I, we were both very much looking forward to seeing one another. I was excited to see her and her husband’s (Mr. Big) house and to meet their dog Dudley. Also exciting is the fact that my aunt is 19 weeks along with her first child. Which makes me all excited to be a cousin-aunt to Junior. The Accidental Housewife had been telling me how big she was getting, which I couldn’t really believe, as she has always on the petite side. And I still don’t think she is that big. Check out this picture of us the day I flew out. Does she look nearly 5 months pregnant? I don’t think so.

Here is a picture Mr. Big took, which is ever so flattering to both of us, but still doesn't make the Accidental Housewife look nearly as big as she thinks she is.


And finally, here is a picture of their dog, Dudley, who became my best pal.

I have more stories to tell, but this is already a fairly epic-long blog entry, so I'll save them for later.