Aunt Brookie

Close your eyes and imagine me standing in front of you jumping up and down, more excited than I’ve ever been about anything—even more than my MacBook or Chocolate Chex or Belize or perfect moments or Mexican food or clearance sales or Mango Mojitas or anything—yelling over and over at the top of my lungs, “Nuh-uh. No way! No! Are you serious? Nuh-uh!”

Are you picturing it? Good.

I’m gonna be an AUNT!!!

Bryan and Jessie are expecting! Parker Bryan—my brother already swears it’s a boy, and they’ve got the name picked out with a blue bib that says ‘I love my daddy’—is due April 10th or 12th…my birthday! Who gets a niece or nephew for their birthday? Me. I do. Aunt Brookie does.

I just wanted to run up to her belly and scream: I love you so much little baby, I will kiss you and hug you forever! But I thought that would sort of freak everyone out, so I just jumped around the back yard for an hour or two like any good crazy old aunt would do.

If you told me today that the sky is falling or that Martians invaded or that President Bush just declared a national chicken-fried chicken holiday, I’d say, “Yeah, but who cares? Bryan’s having a baby!”

He also graduated college on Saturday and celebrated his one-year wedding anniversary today. Cups are overflowing around here!

It’s enough to make a girl want to change all her plans and move into her brother’s house as the live-in nanny…