My first time being an Uncle

Posted by Stuart at 09:34 PM on January 10, 2007

At 5 AM on the day we were to leave Panama City, we got the phone call that we have been waiting for: my pregnant sister, her husband, and my mother were on the way to the hospital.

The flight back to the US was uneventful, but we were full of anticipation to hear the news from the hospital. As soon as we landed, we headed there to meet the newest addition to our family… a cute little girl named Ava Marie. Soon afterwards, I was able to hold the hours-old baby in my arms.

After spending some time with the baby and the new parents, my mother and father and I headed out for some dinner. They were both in a celebratory mood, as Ava Marie is their first grandchild. At the restaurant, we heard that some family friend’s had dropped by the hospital, and were now on their way to join us. And then we heard a big surprise that one of my aunts and her daughter had secretly driven all the way from Houston to see the baby, and that she was on the way to the restaurant as well.

It was a great party, once everyone arrived. The wine flowed freely and we made the kitchen stay open a little later than they perhaps wanted, as we kept ordering more food as new arrived.

All in all it was a great day. I look forward to sending little Ava Marie birthday presents every January from now on.

Living Vicariously Through Each Other

Posted by Stuart at 09:38 PM on January 11, 2007

As I sit here and hold day-old Ava Marie, I reflect on the whole amazing process. Since births happen all the time, I would think that we would get used to it. But no, it is still an awe-inspiring experience to share in the creation of another human life.

I was looking down at the sleeping baby in my arms, and my aunt asked me, "See? Isn't she beautiful?" I had to agree. "Doesn't it make you want to have one of your own?"

"Umm.... No. Absolutely not."

And I said it with a smile, because I really don't know why I missed out on the need-for-procreation gene. But having a baby of my own was the farthest thing from my mind at the time. And I am well past the age where that desire was supposed to kick in, so I guess that means that it's not going to happen.

It's funny how my sister's and I had the same childhood and share most of the same DNA, but our lives have taken wildly different paths the last few years. I have moved to the other side of the world and have done my best to put myself in as many different places as I can, as often as I can. She, on the other hand, found a wonderful husband, bought a house, and had her first child.

And we are both very happy with the outcomes and the paths ahead of us. So as she might marvel at the exotic places I go and things that I see (as she often comments on these pages), I too will marvel at her as she plays the premier role in shaping the life of another human being. It is a huge undertaking, and I have a lot of respect for her and the way she is going about it.

These paths that we have set ourselves upon are mutually exclusive. It would be impossible to do both, so we will just have to admire each other from afar. We will have to settle for living vicariously through each other as time goes on.

That's not such a bad thing after all...