Monday, February 14, 2005

How I became a Bad Aunt

Somebody asked, in comments, the origin of my blog name. It's simple, really. It is a description.

I have a ridiculous number of nieces and nephews, as I come from a family that breeds like rabbits, and there are a lot of us. Early on I tried harder and often felt guilty about my lack of success. At one stage I even wrote a little book which I sent to the children of one of my brothers. But this has remained the high point of my auntliness, I'm afraid. My family keeps popping them out, and I keep forgetting their names. I shall be forever a Bad Aunt.

I've stopped feeling bad about my Bad Auntliness, however. Some things are just not meant to be, and my nieces and nephews seem to be doing just fine without me. I have become the Occasional Bad Aunt, who crashes their lives now and then, sets a lot of bad examples, then flies back to the other side of the world, helped along by the great sighs of relief from my siblings as I wave goodbye.

Here is a page from near the beginning of the book:



And here's a page from near the end. This is my brother.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

>>>I have become the Occasional Bad Aunt, who crashes their lives now and then, sets a lot of bad examples<<< No, Badaunt, I would think that your nieces + nephews would REVEL in their madcap aunt, who (judging by her blog) just ***HAS*** to be a Mary Poppins. Surely the little ones are sad to see you leave?!

Badaunt said...

I'm fairly sure the little ones enjoy it (particularly the bad examples). I'm just not so sure about their parents.

Paula said...

I'm a horrible aunt--to hubby's nieces and nephews (I am an only child). I don't care, though, and my conscience never troubles me over it.

Unknown said...

I am sort of a crummy aunt too. I tried to teach my 10 year old neice how to make candles. Hot melted wax and 10 year old...what was I thinking? add to that, a shaky stepstool, some one should put me out of my auntly misery. Being a mom has helped the instinct a little, but I am still sort of dealing with the bad name.