today

Today is my niece's 16th birthday.  I can't believe she is 16.  I love all of my nieces and nephews, but Alex holds a really special place in my heart.  First, she is my first niece.  Second, she was the baby that made me decide babies weren't so bad after all and that I wanted children some day.  Third, she should have been *my* child.  She is so much like me in so many ways - people that know us both are amazed by the similarities.  I actually got up one night to pee (when I was pregnant) and in the dark when I was half asleep, looked in the mirror and thought "what is Alex doing here?"    I remember the day she was born almost as clearly as I remember Matthew & Scarlett's births.  My sister was about a week overdue and I was a senior in high school.  I was in chorus, not because I could sing but because I needed an art credit and that was the only option that fit into my schedule.  Our parents had gone with our baby sister to a singing something ~90 miles away, and my aunt (who taught at the school I went to) came to tell me the baby was here.  I immediately checked out of school (I don't really remember how I did this, other than I went to the office & told them I was leaving and it was somehow ok), went home to check on whether or not my grandparents wanted to ride with me, called the hospital to make sure it was ok with my sister for me to come, and headed to the hospital (~30 miles away).  My grandparents said they would wait & go later, so I was the first person to get there to visit.  There was something special about that...being the first person besides her mom & dad (and doctors/nurses but they don't really count) to hold her.  We bonded somehow.  I didn't even mind weeks later when she spit up on my favorite skirt.  :)    Anyway, I can't believe she is 16.  Time flies.  Last week while I was visiting my parents she brought her boyfriend over for one of many family dinners.  It was really strange to see her in line to fix her plate with a boy behind her.  "Our" little girl is growing up.  She isn't getting her driver's license today, but should get it sometime next week.  I really can't believe it, and seeing how I feel today, thinking about her, I really dread the moment when my own children turn 16.   Happy Birthday Alex!  I love you!