An Open Letter to my Niece

Dearest Emma,

You are a big sister now. As a big sister, yet the littlest sister in my family, I thought I could share a few tips with you on how to survive  succeed at being an awesome big sister to your new sister.

First of all, your mom and her twin (Aunt Laura) were always the nice ones in the family. Your other aunt and uncle, not so much but don't tell them I said that. You aunt and uncle (who shall remain nameless) taught me many things about growing up that I thought you should know.

1. Don't duct tape your younger siblings hands together and spray Lysol in his her eyes. Your mom might get mad. Not that I would know.
2. Don't let your sister talk you into things such as duct taping someones hands together and spraying Lysol in their eyes. Again, I know nothing about this.
3. It would be best not to record your sibling acting out soap operas while in the shower, at the age of 5. Five year olds are good at retaliation such as peeing on you. Again, I know nothing of this... I have just heard.
4. If you see an extremely large rock shaped like Daffy Duck, don't convince your sibling to pick it up. They might drop it on their foot, break a few toes and your mom might get mad. I plead the fifth.
5. If your grandma sends you a pair of granny panties, don't put them in the back of your drawer and swear to never wear them. Throw them away immediately so that they can never be shown to your preteen love interest by your sibling! Anything that might be considered embarrassing needs to be destroyed or can and will be used against you. And to James Howell, I apologize for that unfortunate experience... not that it happened.
6. Don't convince your sister to put yarn between her teeth and floss with it. The yarn might get stuck, your mom might have to take her to the dentist to have it removed, and she might get mad. Or so I might have heard.
7. Convincing your sibling to eat dog food is wrong, even if they look like a basset hound sometimes.
8. Don't stalk your sister's best friend, even if you have a HUGE crush on him. It just gets awkward. Not that I have ever stalked anyone that worked at a mexican food restaurant when I was in high school that drove a blue and white pickup. never. I made all that up just to make a point.

And now let me tell you a few things that your mom and her twin (Aunt Laura) did that impacted me.

1. Do send your sister flowers when you can't make it to her 8th grade band recital. It will mean the world to her.
2. Do always tell her how funny she is. It's a thing on the Kralka side of the family.. everyone thinks they're funny but no one really is.. still you need to stroke those egos. We're famous for them.
3. Do love her unconditionally. (ok.. your other aunt and uncle might have done this too).
4. Do offer to serve punch and cake at her wedding at the  last second when she was too bone head to find someone in advance to do this.
5. Do give her space when she needs it.
6. Do be ready to stand and defend when she needs that too.
7. Do recognize that just because you're sisters, you might not follow the same paths, do the same thing, believe in the same cause.. but support her anyway.

Being a sister is a powerful thing.

Over the next few years you'll fight over that pink tutu I'm sending to you tomorrow, bite each other, scream at each other, and disavow each other too many times to count and that's ok. Because I know that with a mom like yours and aunts like you have... you will be a fabulous sister. You have the best role models possible, even Aunt Julia.

love,
Aunt Bobbie

P.S. give your mom an extra hug today, I'm sure she'll need it at some point. oh. and learn to change diapers. I know you're only three but you gotta start pulling your own weight eventually.