My grandparents raised me, and the generational divide wasn't always easy. But I had the coolest great aunts, and my kids love them, too.

Courtesy Nicole Johnson

When I was a kid, my aunts were the coolest. Auntie Pauline lived in a ranch house with a pool in Long Island, New York. Her husband, Sy, was the kindest of all my uncles and would stick up for me when my brother and cousin, who were three years older than I was, made fun of me. Pauline's daughter would become and remain one of my closest friends.