THAT'S SUPER AUNT GENIE TO YOU!

I've already told you about my two sisters, Karen and Mary Kay. I have another sister, Genie, too, or Super Aunt Genie, as she's been known since Samuel was born.

I have many excuses for why I had a melt down about 2 weeks after Samuel was born: I'm a 41 year old first time mother, little to no sleep, not being able to juggle work, home and a new baby perfectly, feeling guilty for not walking my dog, vacuuming or showering and just plain feeling like I had to do it all and not knowing how I was going to make that happen. This is what I've wanted my entire life and I was feeling miserable! What was wrong with me!?!

Well, one night, very late....probably at least 1 or 2 in the morning...I was once again crying...after having very little sleep and feeling like a failure....I knew I had to talk to someone...(Don't get me wrong, my husband was DEFINITELY here for me and very supportive, but he had no experience with babies and I just needed a woman and an experienced mother to talk to.)....who could calm my fears and let me know everything was going to be ok....that person. I knew, had to be Genie. I knew this from experience.......I need to go on a small tangent here to give some back story......

...FLASHBACK 10 YEARS....

Genie and I were not close when we were growing up and it's to be expected since when she was fourteen I was only only seven. That is a major maturity difference. Anyway...time passed....she graduated, went to college, got married, moved to Germany for a time, had two children and finally ended up in New Mexico, where I eventually moved, after graduating from college, to be with my now ex-husband.

The process of my marriage falling apart is where I learned how AMAZING my sister, Genie, can be. I went through a very awful time. I couldn't sleep, work or eat (I got down to 88 pounds.) and I was very depressed. To make a long, miserable story short...GENIE IS THE REASON I AM ALIVE TODAY! She had people calling me and checking in on me every day, let me call her at ANY HOUR, if I needed to talk, she found me a counsellor and (with the help of my brother, Mark and sister-in-law, Connie, who let me live with them for 6 months) got me back on my feet and functioning again.

.....FLASH AHEAD 10 YEARS....

.....I now have a newborn son, a husband, a home, a job, three cats, a dog, very little sleep, forgetting to eat and drink, an strong A-personality and I'm melting down....I'm not the perfect mom I thought I would be....in steps SUPER AUNT GENIE!

First, Genie calms me down and lets me know that I'm doing everything fine, the house will still be standing in the morning and she's got a plan....

...Next thing I know, Genie SWOOOPS in with a bottle warmer, a wipe warmer, spaghetti for dinner, washes my floors, lets me vent and cry, tells me all will be ok and stays the night so Richard and I can actually sleep more then an hour at a time. AAAHHHH....beautiful REM sleep! The thing about REM sleep is that you never know how important it is until you have to work and function without it.

Genie actually came over a number of times (my mother did too) to give me a break to sleep, time to pay bills, shower or just talk, took me shopping, put up with me calling at all hours of the night for a couple weeks (months) and daily reassured me that I was a good mom and would work through all the anxious moments and tough first months. Genie and I are closer then ever. We talk almost every day and I don't know what I'd do without her.

THANK YOU, SUPER AUNT GENIE! I LOVE YOU! YOU ARE DEFINITELY ONE OF GOD'S ANGELS ON EARTH!

P.S. My husband, Richard, would also like to add that her title, "SUPER AUNT GENIE," is well deserved, but not enough, for all that she has done for us!