I'm what Melanie Notkin, founder of SavvyAuntie.com and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, calls a PANK... Professional Auntie, No Kids. I'm in my mid-twenties and I've never been that girl who couldn't wait to be a mom. I've never even had a huge desire to be a mom at all. In recent years, I have decided that motherhood is something that I will be able to live with and also live without. Most of the time, women like me are shamed for their choice to purposely exclude having children from their agendas. It's not fair but it's true. Also true, not all women have to or should have kids. It's not for everybody. I never considered that I could have the same relationship with a child that I didn't create.

Roughly two years ago, one of my closest friends asked me to be the godmother of her unborn child. I gratefully accepted and was honored that she had chosen me but I had no idea that being a godmomma would be one of my most favorite things in the world.

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Dear Mom, I Hope You Know

An Open Letter To My Godmother

To my sweet, sassy goddaughter,

I was the very first person to know about you. From that second on, I prayed that you would be a little girl. I never knew that I wanted to be so involved in a child's life until I was a part of yours. I ultimately made the decision to move back home so that I wouldn't miss your milestones. I want(ed) to be such a large influence in your life. I hope you know that I love you beyond measure and absolutely nothing can change that. I was present for your first steps and I can't even describe the joy I felt in that moment. I can only imagine the mess I will be when you say my name for the first time.

There is so much I want to see you accomplish. I want to be there for your first day of school as well as your last. I want to help you get ready for your first dance and your first date. I want to see you fall in love and get married. I want to see you start a family of your own, if you should choose to do that, of course. I hope you know that you can come to me when you think you've made a mistake; there will be many, I can assure you. I promise to support all of your dreams, big and small, and I will encourage you to take the path less traveled. I promise to give my best advice when asked. When you get your heart broken for the first time, I will be there to pick up the pieces... and the second, and the third time, too. I promise to be a woman that you can aspire to be like. I want nothing more than for you to be proud of who I am. I wish for you to be brave, courageous, kind, and the type of woman who stands up for what she believes. As your godmomma, I promise to help your mom raise you to be a woman that you can be proud of.

Above all else, I will love you like you're my own. I am so thankful that I get to be your godmomma. Your mom picked me because she knew that you would need me. She never knew that I really needed you.