Wednesday Letters: Niece

Wednesdays are the days when I write a letter to someone in my life (past, present, or future) and tell them something. Hence the title, Wednesday Letters.

Dearest Niece,

It seems that not so long ago they made me hold you. To everyone it was sweet for an 11 year old child to hold her first niece. All I could think about was how grateful I was to no longer be the youngest in the family. And maybe I was excited to hold a baby, too.

There have certainly been times when I didn't love being the person closest to you in age. Not that I didn't like it, it's just that at some points I wanted to be the grown-up, not treated like a kid (you understand this now...). And so maybe I ignored you (okay, I did) and maybe I didn't play with you as much as I should have. But you were always my buddy.

I still remember when I made it up to your soccer game that one time and got to see you score the only goal in the game. That was a proud moment for me.

And now you're 18. Graduating high school. Going off to college. Making decisions that will affect the rest of your life. Yes, I always give you tons of advice whenever I see you but please know that it's not because I think you're doing things wrong. I just see you making similar decisions to the ones I made and I'm trying to help you maybe not make as many mistakes as I did. You're always welcome to ignore my advice, just listen though, okay? Give your aunt a minute of your time.

I love you, Niece. Really, I do. I think you can tell that since I spend more time talking to you than anyone else in the family. Because I feel like you get it. You get what I want, what I'm looking for, etc. And as you reach closer to graduation... well... I hope for all the things I wished for when I was 18. But I hope that you actually get all of those wishes.

Love you always.