MUNCHKIN!

It was October 23rd, 2008 at 724am. I could barely distinguish my cell ringing from the dream I was having. With my eyes still closed, I began searching my bed for my 2x4 inch cell phone singing "It starts in my toes, makes me crinkle my nose, where ever it goes I always know that you make me smile, please stay for a while now, just take your time where ever you go."

I slide the phone to the on position. "Hello?!" I muster up. She began talking too quickly I could barely make out the words. I opened my eyes to the world to help me concentrate. It was my sister Adrienne: "...I just took a pregnancy test and it was positive..." My first thought, "Thank God it's not me!"

What do I say? I know my sister and brother-in-law had been trying to conceive, but were they ready? Am I ready to be an auntie to another child? I feel as though my life had been turned up side down. How dare they start a family without checking in with me. Do they know how hard it is to be an Auntie?

As my sister was still chatting away, my mind was wondering off. I felt as though I drank 14 cups of coffee, my heart racing, my palms hot and sweaty, I felt hyper vigilant. I kept wondering if I was going to be able to relate to this infant better than with only niece Sophia I have now. Don't get me wrong, Sophia and I love each other...but we did get off to a rocky start: was it because I felt awkward around my sister when she was tucked away in my sisters womb? or perhaps that I called her SMIDGET for 9 months? Or maybe she just knew I wasn't ready to have my "baby fill" right now in life and kept her distance. I appreciate that Sophia, thank you!

So here we are. Only 8 months to go. Even though I am not experiencing the growth of a embryo, zygote or fetus inside my body I am experiencing the joy my sister must feel. I have the tendency to smile when I see her. I laugh because I know all the sleepless nights and dramatic baby stories she will have in her not so distant future. I wake up every morning wondering how her day will be and when her "pregnancy side effects" will begin and how bad they will be. I am patiently waiting for her belly to expand. I worry about the growth and health of this child. I wish to always be there for this baby and for my sister. Even though this "living thing" is the size of a poppy seed, consisting of only two layers in which all organs and body parts will develop from, I still worry.

I have decided to name it "Munchkin". Will that name stick with this child forever? No one knows. I always find a nickname that symbolizes our relationship. For example, SMIDGET, aka Sophia Rose. Before my niece had entered the world outside my sisters body I called her only "SMIDGET". Why you ask? If you look at my sister Sandy and my brother-in-law Mike, your 1st thought is how they are vertically challenged. How do you say...midgets? Sandy and Mike would make a midget child. S(andy and) M(ike's) MIDGET! This baby is now MUNCHKIN. Not because it will resemble a donut hole or the small people in the 1939 movie Wizard of Oz, but because I made my sister eat a Munchkin the week she found out you were had made your landing in her uterus.

I am excited for Adrienne and Keir and their new addition. However I am more thankful that my sister having this baby has made me realize how important family is and how much I cherish the bond I have with my family, especially my sisters.