Having a baby niece has been amazing for so many reasons. These past few five months have been some of the best of my life. I am so lucky to live so close to her and to be such a big part of her growing up. It has been so fun to see all of her “firsts”, especially holidays. In an alcoholic family, holidays can be dreadful and stressful. I have definitely experienced my fair share of ruined holidays. I jokingly said to someone the other day that I feel like my niece is the reward for having such a dysfunctional family. She is just so sweet and innocent and happy. And she makes my sister and my mother and me SO happy. Tonight was her first Halloween and my mom made her costume. I know this was such a wonderful experience for my mom- to make something special for her granddaughter. It may seem silly that we all dressed up and made such a big deal about a baby going trick-or-treating that isn’t even able to eat candy yet, but it was just another of so many sweet memories with her. I usually do not look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas the same way other people do- I mean I still really like the holidays, but since they involve my family, they are usually stressful. But this year feels really exciting and special and it is nice to actually be looking forward to the next few months!!
Anxious ACOA 