That's for Fucking Awesome Aunt. You see, it looks like my niece may become a mother as early as June, which would make me, in genealogical terms, a great aunt. But I believe I'm already a pretty great aunt, so the title must be ratcheted up a bit. Hence FAA.
I got the word after church today. It's funny, my minister shared how unusual it is for Easter Sunday, Eastern Orthodox Easter, and the last day of Passover to all fall on the same date. That we should be heartened as we await new beginnings. And then I heard that soon I may be holding a baby!My niece and her husband met the expectant birth parents at the adoption agency on Thursday.* The two couples hit it off and the birth mother wants to stay involved as a friend of family, which is what my niece was hoping for. Legally, the birth mother can't consent to an adoption until the baby is born. But on Friday, she gave word that she had decided on my niece and her husband.
The girl is in her last trimester and the pregnancy has been uneventful, so that doesn't worry me. But she could change her mind. That worries me. I suspect that deep inside, my niece and her husband are worried, too. She said they don't want to know the baby's gender yet. I think that would make it too real.
But there's plenty of time for worry. I want to allow myself today for just being happy.
*Come to think of it, I don't know if that was their only meeting. I
didn't ask. I don't really know a lot about the adoption process.