25: When Being An Aunt Becomes Reality

This weekend, I traveled the 1,876-sum miles to Columbus, Ohio to meet my sister's first child - Mr. Marcus Deacon Blaine. Six-weeks old and swaddled in a white blanket in his bouncy seat, the first time I set eyes on him and his full mane of red hair, I felt a wave of love. I instantly knew we were going to be good friends.

The first time I actually held him, however, I was a nervous wreck. That next morning, April passed him along to me nonchalantly so she could shower, and as he squirmed in my inexperienced arms, all I could think was, "Don't drop the baby; Do NOT drop the baby. Do. Not. Drop. This. Baby." I was mildly panicked.

This led me to clumsily lay him down on a pillow in between my knees, at which point he stopped flailing, and slowly averted his gaze upward until he settled on me. We both looked at each other with curiosity and wonder. After a several minutes like this, I found myself choking back tears as I said to him, "Hi Marcus. I'm your Aunt Rebekah. It's so nice to finally meet you."

And that's how we met. Marcus and Rebekah - the Dynamic Duo.

Over the course of the weekend, I was delighted to uncover the similar traits he and I possess: his frequent hiccups, oversized bobbly head, sloppy eating habits and impressive kicking abilities (Although the latter has not yet resulted in a broken metatarsal for him, I did warn of the ramifications of being too confident with your feet while carrying tacos. I showed him my cast, and he seemed clear on this lesson). I also quickly learned that Mr. Marcus despises wearing pants. All of this led me to deduce that his future could hold either a profession in kicking for an SEC football team (ahem, the Razorbacks), or could bring him to showbiz...the showbiz of Chippendales. I'm certain my sister wasn't fond of my conclusions, but I am also certain, that Marcus will soon unveil other personality traits that might bring him to additional professions that I have not yet stumbled upon.

25: So far - not too shabby. I managed to NOT drop Marcus the entire weekend.

Score.