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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 there fellow Aunts and Aunties! Welcome back to Auntieviews. In this edition, we’ll be hearing from an annoymous Auntie, but a loving Auntie nonetheless.
Within our network of Aunts, we all sShhare stories, give advice, and genuinely celebrate Aunthood altogether. She is constantly supporting other Aunts with their struggles. She offers wise words to the members in need, but she also boasts (rightfully so) about how proud she is to be the Aunt to 9 niblings!
“Being an aunt has been one of the most amazing things to happen to me. I never knew that I could love one just as much as the next, 9 times over! And that’s just my “blood” niblings. I am a bonus auntie to many more kiddos! I love having dates and sleepovers when I’m able. Just taking the 2 youngest girls to a burger joint, makes my day every time. The littlest things make the biggest impact on them. When I’m with them my heart is happy. I won’t lie, when all 8 are together at one time, my head is pounding from the squealing and occasional bickering, but knowing they are so close makes me happy. Also, no one gets out of Gigi’s sight without a selfie :)”
Background:
She has spent the last 20 years living in St.Peters, Missouri. She loves spending lots of time with her friends and family, dining out and catching a movie on the weekends. When you’re surrounded by a tight core of close friends and family, it’s no wonder she’s remained in the same location for so long. It’s also doesn’t hurt that she’s a mere 45 minutes from the Saint Louis Zoo, Busch Stadium and the St. Louis Science Center. With so many attractions and loved ones all around, it’s no wonder she’s so content. She keeps herself quite busy too. For the past 23 years, she has successfully operated a daycare business from her home. Whoa! Kudos to you! But she doesn’t stop there. This multi-talented Auntie is also a Photographer and runs an online business selling jewlery.
So there you have it. She is diverse with a capital D! She runs several businesses, knows how to let loose and have a good time, and of course, she’s an exemplary Aunt. So now, let’s get on with her Auntieview.
The Interview:
1.) What are the names of your nieces/nephews? Are you an Aunt by relation, choice, or both? How many do you have? How long of you been an Aunt? How old were you when you first became one?
I am an Auntie by relation to 9 amazing kiddos. I am a bonus Auntie to many more! I became an Aunt for the first time when I was 18, so 17 years. The first young man just turned 17 as I type this. What an honor to show what a proud Auntie I am on the birthday of the boy who started it all.
2.) Are you also a Mother or are you a childless Aunt?
I have no children of my own, but everyone always says I’m a second mom in many ways.
3.) If you can think back to when you were first told you were going to be an Aunt, what were some of the emotions that you felt?
OH I had always babysat and loved kids so to have one to essentially call “mine” was HUGE for me! I was so excited!
4.) What do your nieces or nephews call you?
They call me Gigi for short. It just stuck and it is who I am and there’s no one I’d rather be. Even though it’s mostly a nickname for a grandma lol It has carried on into my business life as well.
5.) Many Aunts are often looked at and referred to as second Moms to their niblings. Do you feel like that’s a fair way to describe your relationship with yours?
I do! My friends tell me all the time that I’m like a second mom. In the past, I didn’t always feel that way bc I long to be a mother and I’m not yet. I now believe them because I do love and care for each and every child in my life as if they were my own. And if that’s the closest I ever get to being a mother, I’ll take it. They mean the world to me and I just hope they all grow up to know and never forget that.
6.) Do you live close to your nieces and nephews or are you a long-distance Aunt?
I live about 5 minutes from 3 of them and about another 40 minutes from the other 5.
7.) As an Aunt, what do you consider to be the biggest value you bring to your family?
I would like to say my love for them and sometimes being a voice of reason, but I think my obsession with photography and always capturing memories to keep for a lifetime would be huge. Without Gigi there to take pictures, there is no proof anything happened 🙂
8.) In general, why do you think Aunts are important within to families?
Aunts are able to be that friend to confide in, but also there to give a reality check when needed. Also, we are way cooler than mom and dad, JK JK
9.) Even though your niblings needs have evolved from when they were very young until now, is there anything about your relationship with them that has remained constant?
They are like me and love making memories, we have a lot of fun being together. They always want to go back to that place or see that thing again. “Gigi remember when…”
10.) I make it a point to schedule “just us” time with my niblings. Do you do the same? If so, what are some of your favorite activities to do with them?
We don’t have set times, especially now that everyone is in school. When it’s just an evening, we love dinner and/or sno cone dates. When we have more time we love going to the Saint Louis Zoo. Because there are 8 of them, we try to do 2 at a time, except the 17-year-old.
11.) What is one good piece of advice that you would give it to any new Aunt?
Take those pictures, bad hair day or not! And always be present in some way, we hold a special place in their little hearts always. Oops, I guess that’s 2.
12.) What is one of the biggest difficulties you’ve experienced as an Aunt? How did you overcome it if at all?
The most difficult thing I’ve ever experienced as an Auntie was losing my second nephew to SIDS at just 4 and a half months old. He, like his brother, was my world. This is something you don’t overcome, you just keep moving forward. He is still very much present in my everyday life. I wonder what kind of shenanigans he would be up to these days. He would have been 14 this year.
13.) What’s your proudest moment as an Aunt?
That’s tough, there have been so many; from the youngest looking exactly like me to the oldest getting his first job.
14.) If you could go back in time and give your younger Auntie self a piece of advice but would it be? And why?
For a couple of years, 5 of them lived about 2 hours away. I wasn’t always available to go along bc of work and when I was, I wasn’t a fan of the drive or to be honest my sister in law at the time. So I would say, tough it out and go no matter what. Those babies need to see you to better build that relationship.
15.) 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 can see that to a degree, I only know the aunt side is all gravy bc you can sugar them up and send them home. I personally long to be a mom one day so for me, I see that part as the icing on the cake.
16.) If you had to compare your relationship as an Aunt to one food what would it be and why?
Spice drop candy. I, like the kids, am a little bit of sugar and a lot a bit of spice! I like to think I am colorful and unique. I am not everyone’s favorite all the time, but there is something about Gigi that they all love.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading all about her experience as an Aunt. We all come from various walks of life, have slightly different ideologies on Aunthood, but one thing that unites us all is our love for our niblings. We show off our Auntie badges with pride. And you should too!
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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