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Dana Gutkowski
I am the mother of none, but the very proud Aunt to four beautiful children. I did absolutely no work to create them, but I will do everything in my power to help raise them.
Latest posts by Dana Gutkowski (see all)
- How can I be a good aunt? - May 19, 2021
- Aunt Quotes - March 19, 2021
- End Your Silence. Support Black Lives Matter - June 29, 2020
Hello fellow Aunts and Aunties! Welcome back to Auntieviews. In this edition, we’ll be hearing from Dawn Ammirati Serafin, The Brownie Aunt.
Dawn and I initially met only virtually through a Facebook Group for Aunts. After months of chatting, Dawn decided it was time for us Long Island Aunties to finally meet one another. So together we organized an Aunt date. Along with Debbie Danise-Acosta (The Sweet Potato Fry Aunt), we met up and shared a lovely brunch together. It was during our time that I decided to get my ass in high gear and really start networking with other Aunts. I loved hearing about Dawn and Debbie’s experiences with their niblings. They just got me. Aunthood is where it’s at! So thank you to Debbie and Dawn for inspiring me. Now let’s get on with Dawn’s Auntieviews.
Background:
Dawn lives in Merrick, New York, a town on Long Island. She grew up in the Bronx, New York, but moved out to Long Island with her husband. She’s a hard-working teacher and a recipe blogger at Real House Wives Cook. I took a quick peek at some of her recipes, and I must recommend her Crinkle Cookies! They’re one of my all-time favorite desserts. If you like brownies, you’ll LOVE these cookies! They’re simple to make, but more importantly, delicious to taste. The full recipe is on her site.
Since she’s a teacher, she’s lucky to get the summers off. It’s during this time that she likes to travel, go to the beach (it’s Long Island, it’s kinda a law to go to the beach if you live here), or lounge around the pool. But she can’t spend all of her time alone. She also enjoys to heading out to the Vineyards on Eastern Long Island for wine tasting with girlfriends and going out to dinner with her hubby. Teachers are one of the most important professions because they help raise our youth. She deserves all this time off to recharge for the new school year!
The Interview
What is your background as an Aunt? How long of you been an aunt and how long ago did you first became one?
I became an aunt 11 years ago and I have 9 nieces and nephews, 2 nieces through friends, and I am also a godmother to my cousin’s daughter.
What do your nieces or nephews call you?
My nieces and nephews call me Aunt Dawnie or Aunt Dawn and Fairy Godmother to 3 of my godchildren.
Do you live close to your nieces and nephews or are you a long-distance aunt?
All of my nieces and nephews are about 30-45 minutes from me so it’s not difficult to get to spend time with them.
How old are your nieces/nephews now?
They range from ages 14 down to 3 months and everything in between.
What’s your favorite thing to do with your niblings? Either currently or from when they were growing up.
My favorite thing to do with my niblings is getting to spend alone quality time with them such as when I babysit them or take them out for a special outing. They love to do crafts with me and we enjoy going to the movies together.
Are you also a mother or childless Aunt? If you were childless is that by choice or by chance?
I am not a mother and whether it was by choice is rather a complicated question for me, I guess I always assumed I would have children of my own when I was younger. However, that being said I never had that urge for it. What stands out most in my mind is being about 16 and hanging out with a friend of mine and her saying “Oh I can’t wait to have a baby and be a mom”. My reaction to that was really?!!? I said, “Don’t you want to travel and live your life first?” We clearly were not on the same page with what we hoped for our futures. I felt like maybe something was wrong with me because I didn’t want that. Then I talked myself into thinking it will all just come in time and fall into place meaning I’d get married and suddenly feel like I wanted to have a child. Oddly enough I always knew I wanted to get married. I ended up getting married at 37 and well we had the outlook that whatever will be will be and it just didn’t happen naturally. I definitely was not the type to want to go through IVF and stuff. I guess I just didn’t; want it bad enough. I like my life and I like my freedom. I absolutely love being an aunt though! So as to whether I am childless by choice or by chance, I guess I’d say a little bit of both if that makes any sense.
What is one of the biggest difficulties you’ve experienced as an Aunt?
One of the biggest difficulties is knowing when to step back and not intervene with what their parents say.
As an aunt what’s the biggest value you feel you bring to the family?
I think the biggest value as an aunt that I bring to the family is that they can count on me more so than their other aunts who have children of their own. Being an aunt means bringing the fun. I remember as a kid I loved my aunts but when I would see my Aunt Anna’s car turning the corner my eyes would light up and I was so happy she came over that’s what I want my family to feel when they see me.
What is one good piece of advice that you would give it to any new Aunt?
A good piece of advice I’d give to any new aunt is to know your boundaries and always be careful not to overstep them. I always tell my niblings if its ok with your parents then its ok with me. Also, enjoy them when you can because it does go quickly. Make memories to last a lifetime.
What’s your proudest moment as an Aunt?
I’m not sure I have just one moment that I could say was my proudest. They make me proud all the time. When I see them in dance recitals I am proud. When I go to their baseball games I am proud. When they call my name I am proud. Or when they fall asleep in my arms I am proud. I do remember seeing my 1st born nephew hours after he was born and just remember feeling so much love for him. I couldn’t believe that I was so overcome with love and that he was a part of me too. It was truly amazing and with the birth of each one, I felt more and more love.
I was once told that being a Mom is all cake and being an Aunt is like icing on the cake. How do you feel about that comparison?
I do think that being an aunt is the icing on the cake. It really is one of the best things.
If you had to compare your relationship as an Aunt to one food what would it be and why?
If I had to compare myself to a food it would be brownies because when I babysit them we always bake brownies and it has become our special thing. It is our little tradition.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading all about Dawn’s experience as an Aunt. She actively participates in their lives, knows her boundaries as an Aunt, and provides loving support to her family. Her niblings are very lucky to have such a strong and supportive woman in their lives. She’s an exemplary role model for any young child to look up to.
Would you like to share your story of Aunthood? Use the contact form below and I’ll email you back to get your Auntieview started!
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