today
is my nephew a's sixth birthday. he's in paris at this moment (talk about fancy celebrations), and i do not have a number to call him at. i did think of him, but thinking - unfortunately - is all i could do...
i thought of the day he was born, and then of the days before he was born. and the day my sister first told me that she was going to have a baby. ages have passed. i was in seattle that summer, and i have indelible memories of n carrying a, on the capilano suspension bridge in vancouver. the things that stick... i remember the day she called to tell me it was going to be a boy. she hadn't wanted to know, but my brother-in-law asked the doctor after the ultrasound. of course, he also shared the information with others - until n decided she didn't want to be the only one uninformed. and so i found out too, though i'd have been happier not to. (i'm reminded of the "didn't know if i would be an aunt or an uncle" joke... i knew i was going to be an aunt, don't worry.) n and i discussed how it would have been so lovely to have a little girl. but then, we both wanted the girl to have an older brother. this gave the boy purpose. ah, we liked. (lucky that the perfect little girl followed :).
a was the most beautiful, most charming baby, and i'm not just saying that. he continues to be a handsome, bonny young lad. if you've seen his pictures, you know i'm not lying. i may now be partial to my niece, but a was my sister's first child, and special to me in many ways. one of my aunts had written "now n will no longer be the youngest around the house" (not that i ever begrudged losing my place as youngest - here was someone i could boss over in later years :).
i was pleased out of my wits to have a baby to play with. "play with" is right, for i couldn't believe he was a fully functional human being at the time. on day 0, he was an amorphous mass. but on day 1, unlike most one-dayers, he was uber alert. we have a photo of him with his eyes wide open, and you wouldn't believe he was born yesterday. but then again, he's always been ahead of his years.
i don't ever run out on nostalgia, and there are memories that still bring tears to my eyes. like the day i was leaving for stanford after a weekend, and a stood at the door to watch me leave... and didn't move until my car was out of sight, as the tears rolled down his eyes (thus mine). no parting has ever been so sad, and so needlessly so :), for i was very much around.
i also remember a time when i was at berkeley, breaking down in tears due to stress over classes and graduation and what-have-you, when he (at 10 months) was sensitive enough to comprehend my tears and hugged my knees as i stood and cried before n.
this is too much tear-talk already... i'll stop. the last six years have flown by. today, i see him less frequently :(. but whenever i do, i marvel at how intelligent a child he is, and how well-informed for his age. he knows things i still haven't learned. that may say something about me, true, but there's no question that he's a rock star. but perhaps, to me, he always will be a rock star.
happy birthday, rock star!
i thought of the day he was born, and then of the days before he was born. and the day my sister first told me that she was going to have a baby. ages have passed. i was in seattle that summer, and i have indelible memories of n carrying a, on the capilano suspension bridge in vancouver. the things that stick... i remember the day she called to tell me it was going to be a boy. she hadn't wanted to know, but my brother-in-law asked the doctor after the ultrasound. of course, he also shared the information with others - until n decided she didn't want to be the only one uninformed. and so i found out too, though i'd have been happier not to. (i'm reminded of the "didn't know if i would be an aunt or an uncle" joke... i knew i was going to be an aunt, don't worry.) n and i discussed how it would have been so lovely to have a little girl. but then, we both wanted the girl to have an older brother. this gave the boy purpose. ah, we liked. (lucky that the perfect little girl followed :).
a was the most beautiful, most charming baby, and i'm not just saying that. he continues to be a handsome, bonny young lad. if you've seen his pictures, you know i'm not lying. i may now be partial to my niece, but a was my sister's first child, and special to me in many ways. one of my aunts had written "now n will no longer be the youngest around the house" (not that i ever begrudged losing my place as youngest - here was someone i could boss over in later years :).
i was pleased out of my wits to have a baby to play with. "play with" is right, for i couldn't believe he was a fully functional human being at the time. on day 0, he was an amorphous mass. but on day 1, unlike most one-dayers, he was uber alert. we have a photo of him with his eyes wide open, and you wouldn't believe he was born yesterday. but then again, he's always been ahead of his years.
i don't ever run out on nostalgia, and there are memories that still bring tears to my eyes. like the day i was leaving for stanford after a weekend, and a stood at the door to watch me leave... and didn't move until my car was out of sight, as the tears rolled down his eyes (thus mine). no parting has ever been so sad, and so needlessly so :), for i was very much around.
i also remember a time when i was at berkeley, breaking down in tears due to stress over classes and graduation and what-have-you, when he (at 10 months) was sensitive enough to comprehend my tears and hugged my knees as i stood and cried before n.
this is too much tear-talk already... i'll stop. the last six years have flown by. today, i see him less frequently :(. but whenever i do, i marvel at how intelligent a child he is, and how well-informed for his age. he knows things i still haven't learned. that may say something about me, true, but there's no question that he's a rock star. but perhaps, to me, he always will be a rock star.
happy birthday, rock star!
No comments:
Post a Comment