Summer is almost over and I had an amazing summer with my great nieces. I come from a big family. I have seven siblings and altogether we have 18 kids. Their kids have 22 children. My oldest nephew, Lamont, has one granddaughter, and my great nephew has one daughter. Wow, that makes me a great-great Aunt twice.
I became an aunt when I was ten years old. Lamont and I are ten years apart. He has always been more like a sibling then a nephew. My kids grew up with his kids, as did all my nieces’ children. When we are all together it is one big event. There are those who have blonde hair blue eyes, and we outnumber the rest of them. There are five redheads in three generations and a few who have light brown hair. Most all of us have blue eyes.
It is funny how DNA is because as our children get older, they resemble siblings, not cousins. For instance, my nephew, Trevor, looks so much like my son Joshua, and they are only a few months apart. Although when they were younger, they looked nothing alike. My youngest son, Tanner, looks almost identical to my great nephew, Adam. Also, my daughter Julie and my great niece Alyssa could be sisters, not cousins. Coincidentally, my niece, Samantha, who is born on my birthday ,and her sister, Jessica, resemble me.
My niece Jessica brought her four daughters up to Wyoming this summer. Ashlyn is the oldest at fourteen years old, Katelin is twelve years old, Ellie is seven years old, and Reilly is the three-year-old tornado. Ellie is the only blondie in group and hanging out with these amazing, sweet girls truly made my summer memorable. The girls aren’t used to being around me as much, so they always take great love in my power wheelchairs. they’ll jump right on and we’ll race down the hallway. My iLevel® Power Wheelchair is probably the most favorite when we’re going down a path at the park. I either have Ellie on my lap, or Riley on my lap or one of them on the back riding as we go down the path.
I really had a lot of fun talking to my older nieces and just getting to know them, and of course paling around with Eli and Riley. Riley enjoyed meeting all her older cousins who played with her. My son Tanner and her blew bubbles out on the sidewalk, and Julie (my daughter) of course allowed her to put stickers all over her face, hair and legs. We also decided to go out by the river here in Wyoming and make s’mores at Lions Park, which is so much fun. Riley decided to burn every marshmallow she put in the fire and half of it ended up all over her face. She truly is a force to be reckoned with.
I love being a mom and Nana but I absolutely adore being an aunt. It’s so much fun having these little girls around and telling them about the things I used to do with their moms when they were their age. I think that’s the part about getting older I love.
About Madonna Long: Madonna works as a disability advocate to educate policymakers and congressional leaders on disability issues. She uses an Edge 3 Power Wheelchair for mobility. She is a mother to four children and lives life on her terms, despite a spinal cord injury. Click here to learn more about Madonna.