How did this happen?

On my way home tonight, I stopped by my brother and sister in laws house to drop off a pan we borrowed. My 7 year old nephew Justin was upstairs reading to Noelle when I arrived because he is required to read to someone 20 minutes each night. Noelle had to go take care of my other nephew Tyler so Justin read to me. As he sat there reading, my ears got teary. Thankfully he did not see this. Why was I misty eyed? Because I wondered how this all happened. How is it that 7 years have gone by so quickly? I remember getting the call that he was about to be born. It seems like only yesterday I left recess duty and rushed to the hospital just in time for his arrival. He had the most hair on a baby I had ever seen and it was all over the place. He looked nothing like a Diak until months later! I already had two nephews that I adored but since I was no longer in college and living in Ft. Collins, I did not get to see them as much as I would have liked. My brother and Noelle lived in Parker so I was excited to be part of this little guys life as much as possible. I remember the first time I fed him, the first time he rolled over, the first time he called me Tanta. The time we took him to see Santa and I taught him to say "Santa says Ho Ho Ho." As we waited in line to see Santa, all he kept saying was HO! I called him Monkey from the very beginning and I still do.

When I moved away I missed my nephews so much (there were 4 at the time). Justin would call me and talk to me on the phone and when I would come to visit (from "New Jesus" as he called it) he would run into my arms the second he saw me. He was my buddy.  Now that I am back in Colorado, seeing me no longer excites him. I don't get hugs without asking and certainly no kisses. Sometimes on a VERY rare occasion he will sit next to me and snuggle but I can't tell you the last time this happened. He is growing up and I am not a big fan of that. I realize this more and more every day, but tonight really shook me. Here he was, this second grader reading me big words (well, for a second grader). Of course I am thinking he is a genius because I remember when he would just scribble. Now he is reading, writing, making amazing pandas out of clay, and is a whiz at the Wii and on the computer. In a blink of an eye time flew by, and I am certainly not happy about it. What happened to the sweet little boy who got sad when I left him, who had no say when we dressed him up in the duck jammies, or the skunk Halloween costume? Yes, he is still so sweet and SUCH a good big brother, but I just don't want to accept he is a second grader. I love seeing the person he is becoming but it does make me miss the past.

I love all my nephews (and niece of course) and I feel this sadness with all of them. Time has gone by way too fast. I remember getting the call that my nephew Quinn was about to be born. That was 14 years ago. Now he is in high school, going to Homecoming with 3 girls (Go Quinn!) and is an all around awesome, talented kid. His brother Ethan is 12 and he also grew up way too fast. I love their personalities and they are so much fun now. I love spending time with them. They make me laugh, they are just awesome. Going on a road trip was a blast with them. They bring so much laughter in my life, but they will always be the kids who were my first two nephews. The ones who started the Tanta name for me (which has evolved into Tantalicious) and gave me the opportunity to be an Aunt. When I moved to Florida in 99, I received an email from Quinn on January 19th that I still have in my Inbox. He hit some keys on the computer (At age 4) and then my sister translated them for me. Here it is (and yes, I really did keep this!)

ILT

QUINTON

C

M

D

D

PAPA

NANA

1234567890

F

G

O

N

V

QJ

Quinton did this all by himself.  I thought I would translate for you...

ILT= I love Tanta

C=Cody   M=Maggie

D=Denise    D="Is for Tanta"

He is very proud that he can type papa and nana all by himself.

F=frog        G=gorilla        O=owl

N=nose        V=violin

I asked him what the QJ is for and he said, and I quote, "Cause I just fought it would be fun."

Then in April he sent me another email:

mommy is going to type for me...
i'm not gonna be 5 til next year. 
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
i love you tanta

quinton's turn...
gcgvdfufgfdhfgsfh
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
no

In my mind I still think that is how they should type because they will always be little boys in my mind. Now when I see them on Facebook (which was hard enough to accept as it is) I think WOW! They are geniuses! They can use a computer and type! Well, they are in junior high and high school and if they were not doing these things, we would be a little concerned.

I know I have rambled on and on, but tonight was a trip down memory lane for me. I love all these kids so much. At least I have my two year old niece Mikaya who runs to me when she sees me,who always kisses me and cries when I leave. But I know this will change eventually so I cherish these sweet moments.
I love these kids with all my heart and I am so lucky to be their Tanta. Just stop growing up so quick. Please.