People, I’m getting old.
No, it’s not my birthday and I’m not saying that because I walk slower than most 93-year-old women.
[As an aside, I used to live in an apartment building that had a pool, and my roommate Kristin often had to stop me from using my cane to trip the old women passing us on the sidewalk on their way to swim. Shortly thereafter I got my belly button pierced just to prove I was still young. :)]
So, what has gotten me feeling so old? Well, since you asked…
My oldest nephew, Alex, turned 18 this week.
One-Eight. He’s an *gulp* adult.
Somehow, that kid still looks like this to me: 
Oh, that little turkey was my boy. We spent hours singing “Chin Up” from Charlotte’s Web and “Blue Suede Shoes” in his best Elvis impersonation. He couldn’t get enough of the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie and, for whatever reason, if he was ever sad about something singing the theme song to Saved By The Bell made him giggle like crazy. The most heart-wrenching moment I ever had was having to leave him and head back to college… he was hugging me around the neck and crying, “But I love YOU! I want to go to college with YOU!” I almost stowed him in my suitcase and smuggled him into the dorm. :)
Being the aunt who wanted to see all his wishes come true, I put my thinking cap on when he wanted a black rabbit for Christmas more than he wanted to breathe. Santa wasn’t going to be able to deliver said rabbit, which prompted me to start writing a children’s book called The Adventures of Tada the Black Rabbit. I had my Aunt Sherry do the illustrations and just last year actually had them put into book form for my nieces and nephews. But back then, I’d just tell him the story and he’d join in at the appropriate places.
Then it happened. They agreed to let me get him a black rabbit one Easter… oh, was he a happy boy! As it turned out, their dalmatian, Patty, wasn’t nearly as happy… so Tada the Black Rabbit had to go live on a farm where they could visit.
I’m sure Tada was as relieved as Patty. :)
It still blows my mind that little boy is a senior in high school. He used to ask me how much I loved him and I’d say, “Around the world and back, buddy.” No matter how old he gets, no matter how much his pictures change, that’s one thing that never will.
