Aunt Megs...

On Wednesday, my nephew, Ryne, turned eight. I find it difficult to believe that he's already eight-years-old, a second grader, with a full vocabulary and adult teeth coming in. He's tall -- like my brother, his dad -- so tall for his age it's unbelievable; he already stands head level to my chest. The last few times I've tried to pick him up, usually as a piggyback ride or him flying at me to hug me, I've had to take a step or two to maintain my balance. I imagine by the time he's 12, we'll be looking at each other eye-to-eye, if not me staring up at him. He's not quite to the age where he thinks that I'm uncool, but I can see that it won't be long before it's more high-fives than hugs and more eye rolls than him saying, "Cool".

I called him on his birthday to wish him happy birthday, and we chatted for a few minutes just about how his day was. When I went to hang up, I said "I love you." not really expecting a response. But he said sincerely, "I love you too." I'm pretty sure my heart literally swelled when he said that. While we see each other fairly often, we don't always part ways with "I love yous". It's usually a hug and me telling him thank you for letting me hang out with him.  But it's amazing what three short words can do for your heart and spirit.

There are so many similarities between my nephew and my brother at that age that it's eerie. My nephew and niece are approximately the same age apart as my brother and me; my mom says that she sometimes has flashbacks when she sees the two of them interact -- it's my brother and me in redux. And to a certain degree, they are: Ryne is the sensitive, funny, protective older brother and my niece is the younger sister with the flair for drama, all things pink but always willing to hang with the boys. I marvel that this is how my brother and I used to be as kids, inseparable but ready to fight with each other at the slightest provocation.

My brother is one of my closest friends -- I know I'm fortunate in that regard. Our childhood was a labyrinth of normal adolescent growing pains with complications stemming from our parents' bitter divorce, verbal abuse, and alcoholism, which resulted in emotional damage and perhaps added limitations in our adult personalities more than I think any of us realized it would: his stoicism, my wild mood swings. Our history allows us to put these traits in context within our sibling relationship, although it doesn't provide an excuse to our other external relationships. Despite no longer being kids, we still look out for each other. I hope my nephew and niece are fortunate to have their childhood friendship with each other be the constant support throughout the course of their lives as it has been for my brother and me.