Every year, my niece and I make a point to go to the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival. It's our tradition and we are parade watching pros! (P.S. Yes, there is a perfect place to watch the parade and fireworks, while negating any chance of late-comers to push you out of the way or stand in front of you. And no, there is zero way I'm telling you where that is.) I'm campaigning for World's Best Aunt and the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival brings me closer and closer. Where else can you feed a kid deep-dish pizza, Eli's cheesecake and a Cutie's Clementine all in one swoop, catch a concert with some Disney hot shot (Mitchel Musso from Hannah Montana this year...who, btw, must weigh about 50 lbs soaking wet) and finish it off with a parade and fireworks? And, let's be honest, nieces and nephews serve as an excellent front for Ana Just Really Wants To See The Parade And Wants An Excuse To Give Her Friends.
To get very Hallmark moment: It's great to see the holidays through the eyes of a kid. The first year I took my niece, she screamed and waved at Mickey like he was a Jonas Brother. Braving the crowds of kids, aggravated parents and bone-chilling cold is absolutely no obstacle if I get to see the extreme joy from this little girl.
Even though I apparently don't wear enough lipstick and I should make sure to always straighten my hair (when she's visiting, I definitely "let myself go"...but apparently untamed Ana hair is offensive to even a 3rd grader), the person she sees in me is everything I try to be and more. To my niece, I'm this sophisticated city aunt who gets on the radio, writes a blog and is published in the paper. After she wrote a list of recommendations on how I could find her an uncle, she wrote out her five favorite things about having me as an aunt. As you can see, I'm not doing too bad.
When you were a kid, did you have a relative that you looked up to or who always went the extra mile?
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Tags: @radioblog, aunt, Chicago, Christmas, holiday, Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, niece, winter
I've always said that the best-ever 100% fool-proof method of birth control is to spend the weekend with my own sassy 8 year old daughter and her equally talented brothers! Interested?