{"id":7463,"date":"2017-09-26T08:31:54","date_gmt":"2017-09-26T13:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=7463"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:40:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:40:43","slug":"the-awkwardness-of-being-a-long-distance-aunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2017\/09\/26\/the-awkwardness-of-being-a-long-distance-aunt\/","title":{"rendered":"The awkwardness of being a long-distance aunt"},"content":{"rendered":"

With an armful of children\u2019s books and DVD\u2019s, I make my way through the glass library door. I feel awkward as I carry these items, as foreign to me as the rocks on Mars. I feel like I should explain that these books aren\u2019t for my children, that I don\u2019t have any.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been visiting this library for nearly a year, yet I only stepped into the kid\u2019s section for the first time during this visit. I felt like an intruder, like I needed to explain myself, justify my presence there. I guess I felt a bit lost away from…<\/p>\n

[This is the beginning of an essay I wrote for Off the Page<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0<\/em>Continue reading\u00a0here<\/a>.]<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo credit: Off the Page<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With an armful of children\u2019s books and DVD\u2019s, I make my way through the glass library door. I feel awkward as I carry these items, as foreign to me as the rocks on Mars. I feel like I should explain that these books aren\u2019t for my children, that I don\u2019t have any. I\u2019ve been visiting...","protected":false},"author":4071079,"featured_media":7475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[115341],"tags":[5001707,20271,1343,214,214805,401,406,30519,7816,20816,3374,698755384,3785,1752573,76768,31207,647597,52010],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-7463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equity-and-justice-equity-and-justice","tag-being-an-aunt","tag-celibacy","tag-children","tag-christianity","tag-doubts","tag-faith","tag-family","tag-fears","tag-god","tag-hope","tag-kids","tag-kingdom-of-god","tag-love","tag-missing-loved-ones","tag-off-the-page","tag-ordinary-life","tag-trust-in-god","tag-vulnerable","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/long-distance-aunt.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"
The awkwardness of being a long-distance aunt<\/a><\/blockquote>