Nephew Love - Lane D.

Kindergarten Homework

Technically, on the day that Lane was born I was not his aunt. While I loved his uncle, we were not married yet. We were not even engaged, actually. I was eighteen years old, and a freshman in college. I had not decided on my major yet, and basically had no idea what I was going to do with my life. Even so, the first time I held him in my arms I thought to myself, "This is what my children will look like." While I had two nephews on my side of the family, he was the first one on Kevin's side. He looked like the tiniest version of Kevin I could imagine, with his nose and dark hair. And I loved him as my own already. On his first day, I held him for a long time in the hospital room while his mom left to take a shower. I told him what a handsome and sweet little boy he was, and that I was going to be his Aunt Val. Later that evening, when describing him to my mom I said, "He has the Peavler nose and the Waddle ears, but he's really cute!"

                                                                                          

Kevin and I did a better job with our nieces and nephews before we had children of our own. We had more time to spend with them. The first time Kevin took Lane from me when it was time for his bottle and settled down in a chair to feed him, I got my first glimpse into the kind of father he might be. We soon learned he loved to ride anywhere with us, and we hardly ever told him no.  As a toddler he was quick to suggest a trip to Wal-Mart to buy a toy. We bought him a little life jacket on one of those trips and started taking him with us to the river in the boat. He was in diapers. The first time Kevin pulled a big flathead into the boat, he cried until we got him back to the bank, clinging to me for dear life! I had to hold him until that fish was in the freezer! Kevin made sure he got over that fear very quickly!  When he was around two, Kevin and I took him to a rodeo in Kirksville. I remember when it was time for the bull riding, Lane clapped his hands saying, "Yay!" throughout the entire eight seconds for every cowboy, whether he stayed on his bull or not! He fell asleep on my lap in the bleachers, and Kevin carried him to the truck.  

Keeping his eye on that big scary fish. We had to keep our distance.

The way Kevin and Lane related to one another when Lane was small helped me decide with 100% certainty that I did not want to start a family of my own with anyone else. We had so much fun with him in those early years that I think if we could have gotten away with keeping him to raise as our own we would have! Lane is eighteen years old now...the age I was when I met him. He drives himself wherever he wants to go these days, and we do not get to see him quite as much as we use to. He is definitely his own person, but once in a while I can still see Kevin in him. In a gesture he makes or something he says or the way he interacts with our kids. This year he took our son duck hunting in the same place Kevin remembers taking him on some of his earliest duck hunts. We love watching Lane catch in his ball games, and we never get tired of seeing him hit a baseball over the fence. His grades are impressive as well, which I am pretty sure has something to do with how many times he convinced me to read Green Eggs and Ham. Maybe. I hope he knows how proud we are of the young man he is becoming, and how much we have always loved having him as a part of our family. He will always have a special place in our hearts, and we will always be two of his biggest fans. Happy Birthday, Lane! Welcome to adulthood.  May your future be filled with memories as bright as the ones you have given to us.

Not scared of fish anymore!