Madelynn Alexis

Maddy and Sydnee

Fifteen years ago today my brother's first child, Madelynn, was born. Since becoming an aunt on September 24, 1994, I've been lucky enough to add Delaney, Gavin and Sydnee to the list of magical children who call me Aunt Lisa. In March, 2010, I will get to add another Baby Huber to that list.

Since I cannot begin to express my gratitude for being an aunt, and since it is Mad's birthday, I'm going to tell you about her.

First, she's obviously beautiful. She was since birth. She was born with a pert little nose, adorable elf ears, and very little hair. The nose is still pert, the head has caught up to the ears, and luckily, at age two, she finally grew some hair.

What's not so obvious is the size of her heart. She is the big sister who is adored by her siblings. She is a total daddy's girl who will honestly say that her dad is her best friend (Goob, a dad, who would have thought?!). She's a girly-girl who can also be pretty crude and gross when she feels like it. With the encouragement of her step-mom, Shannon, she has discovered her love of art. She wants to be a fashion designer/stylist or a therapist who helps divorced kids. I know this girl can be anything she wants.

She loves the city and the ocean. However, as she told me in Alabama when I was talking about the moss hanging from the trees, "They're just trees, we have them in Illinois. I'm not really into nature, you know." She has a smart mouth and a quick wit. Sometimes it seems like her favorite phrase is, "What? Huh? I don't get it?" She thinks science is interesting, parts of history are tolerable, math can be dealt with, but writing is a nightmare.

She's a horrifically picky eater: nothing red, very few vegetables, nothing can touch anything else on the plate, no bread unless it's grilled... She loves fruit, grilled foods, all things potato, pizza - as long as she can't see the sauce, and Phish Food ice cream.

Of course, she is a typical teenage girl with all the catty, silly trappings of that. She's not perfect. We neither want nor expect her to be. She's going to make mistakes. I can't believe how hard it is to stand back and watch her falter, but that's what builds character. In her mistakes, she will learn how to navigate life and figure out who she is. I pity the boy who breaks her heart.

She used to clop down the hall in my too-big high heels and play dress up with my clothes. Now she's taller than I and wears the same shoe size. I miss my little Maddy whom I could hold in my lap... I miss hearing, "do it adin" when I tickled her. I miss her little giggle.

Oh, but I do love this Maddy. She's strong and brave and smart and funny. I can't imagine who she will be in the next 15 years. I want it to go slowly. I want her to stay silly, gross, dingy, catty, marvelous teenage Maddy for as long as possible, because I know I'm going to miss that Maddy when she moves on to the next stage of growing up.

A BIG thanks to the wonderful Aunts in my life, especially to Ruby and Pam who showed me how it was done. An ENORMOUS thanks to Mad, Dee, Gav, Syd and Baby-to-Be for making me a better person. To Randy and Shannon - thanks for having all the babies and keep it up!

I hope I'm a good aunt. I hope Maddy knows how proud I am of her. I hope she knows how much I love her. I hope she feels I'm always here for her. I guess that's the best thing about kids, they are just filled with hope and it spills over to the grown-ups.

Big Sister, Maddy (age 11) with Gavin (3), Sydnee (8 mos.) and Delaney (7)