The Great Aunt

So my niece's water broke today so she is in the hospital now and they are inducing labor. So I guess by the end of the day I will be a great aunt. I find the whole thing to be very strange, somehow saying I could be a great aunt also means that I could be a grandmother had I had kids already. This is a very scary thing to me as I don't feel quite ready to have kids yet even now that I have reached my 30's. I was thinking about it though and it is entirely possible that the rash of girls that had babies while we were in high school could now be grandparents. I suppose that there are times in your life where a mirror is held up and you see how your life could have gone if you had made different choices. Sometimes that might be at a high school reunion, or running into a old friend. For the most part when those times have found me, I have been happy with the direction my life has gone. I find it to be a little rewarding that I can look back at the others my life has crossed and feel that I have made good choices and I am not embarrassed by the way my life has shaped up. I guess during those times I should thank those others around me for making different choices than me and showing me where the other path lead. I should say that my sister in law is delighted to be a 33 year old grandmother, so I am happy for her. I am just really glad it is not me. I just appreciate that there are people out there whose lives are very different than yours and they might love them and be glad they are not leading yours, but that you can feel like I am glad I am who I am because you are not leading their life.