When we talk about raising children in this country, we often get stuck in no-win debates: Should you have them? Should they be allowed to exist on airplanes? Thankfully, the reality is richer and more complex. So many of us play essential roles in the lives of children who aren't ours, and so many of us were shaped by women who were not our mothers. These relationships exist beyond the confines of the nuclear family; our aunties made us who we are and showed us another way to live. These women were an essential bright spot in our lives, whether they were the neighbor down the street with great nails who checked on us when our mom was working late, the family friend who always took us swimming and bought us ice cream, or our aunt who went on glamorous trips and bought us our first diary when we were 9 years old. (It had a sunflower on the cover.) As a tribute to all the aunties who shaped us, we’ve asked some of our favorite writers to share their own stories of being a bonus parent, godmother, or friend to the kids in their lives. You don't have to be a parent to shape and be shaped by children — and to be a cherished part of that village we worry no longer exists, but has in fact been there all along.

- The Romper Editors