One of my favorite roles in my life over last 8 years has been being an Aunt. My nephew is one of the greatest joys of my life. He’s the sweetest, most intelligent kid I’ve ever known. He finds a way to make me laugh all the time. And watching my husband and my nephew together melts my heart every time.
One weekend, a few years ago, my nephew came down to spend the weekend with us here in Alexandria while my parents were visiting. We decided to do a little shopping on the main drag, including some antique shops, which clearly was not a good idea with my nephew. My hubby, realizing that expensive glass jars and a six-year-old with a cape were not a good combination, offered to take my nephew outside to play. When the rest of us finally finished up shopping and headed outside, we saw my nephew and my husband pretending to fly around, cape flapping in the air and all, as they chased after imaginary zombies. If that doesn’t melt your heart, I don’t know what would.
The worst part about living as far away from my family as we do (and one of the big reasons that we are moving) is that we miss out on spending lots of quality time with my nephew (and the rest of my family but let’s be honest—they pale in comparison to an adorable kid). We don’t get to see his soccer practices or just pop by the house to go for ice cream, which always makes me a little sad. I remember those summer days of my college years, where I could go to my brother and sister-in-law’s house and play with my nephew whenever I wanted. Sadly, being a grown up takes away those precious times too.
But there is a happy ending to this story and that is that we were able to make it to one of my nephew’s soccer games this weekend. When we walked through the door and he saw us, his face just lit up. And I remembered why it’s so hard to miss out on all his other special moments.
He’s growing up entirely too fast, right before our eyes. Watching him stand almost a full foot taller than the rest of his teammates makes that reality even more concrete.
So I’ll try to treasure all these moments for as long as they last, capturing them as best as I can with my mind and my camera.
And I’ll try not to be one of those aunts that’s stuck in the past, always reminiscing about how cute and small you used to be. But I would be lying if I said that it’s not hard to watch your days go by so quickly, even if I am only your aunt.
So for now, I’ll try to remember you as you are in this moment. The sweet kid who always turns around, waves, and gives me a goofy grin, when he sees me. I’ll be your soccer aunt any day.
