I have been a proud aunt for 2 years & 6 months now. My sister-in-law gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Kanishka in November, 2016, and I have had this new sense of joy ever since. The problem was, baby Kanishka lived in Dehradun, and I was newly based in Bangalore. With not enough money to purchase a flight, I, unfortunately, had to spend the few months long distance from my sweet niece. I was not able to be there for her and my sister-in-law during the early months, and it killed me inside knowing I was not there for her.

But when my sister-in-law told me that she was planning Kanishka's mundan in March, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to head back home and visit. I could only spend so much time pouring over photos and videos of her, but without ever meeting her in person, I just didn't have that full connection. I was so anxious to see her that I counted down the days from the day I purchased my flight until the first day we would meet. The flight across the country felt like nothing because I knew that right when I got off the plane, I was going to spend the entire day with her.

When I finally saw her in person, it was love at first sight. In just one moment, I knew that no matter what, I would do anything for this kid. I want to show her the world and teach her all of the lessons that life has taught me. I wanted to be there for her when he gets older and needs someone to talk to. I want to be a role model for her and for her to be proud of her aunt. I felt my heart grow about 2 sizes that day because I now had this little human who I loved on such a deep level.

I did not ever think meeting my niece would have had this much of an effect on me. But for anyone who is an aunt or an uncle, you can probably relate to the fact that when your sibling has a kid, your life changes forever. But it changes in the best way possible. While home, I spent as much time as I could with my niece during my weekly trip. I fed her, her bottle, changed her diaper, read her books, took her on walks, and held her every chance I could. I even tried teaching her to crawl, with no luck, unfortunately. One day she fell asleep on my chest while I was holding her, and at that moment I knew what a new form of love could feel like.

Leaving her on my last day out at home broke my heart because I knew that she would never be this small again. But it also excited me to know that she is going to grow up and become her own unique self. I immediately got excited to one day see this little person grow up into a great human. I eagerly waited for her to start walking and talking, and for her to understand that her aunt loves her more than the world and just wants the best things in life for her. She's a chatterbox now, telling new things in her own new language. Whenever I go home, she's the first being I hold onto. Being a long distance aunt is hard, but with social media and constant contact, I know that she and I will be fine. But I already cannot wait to see her again.