My niece, Madeline, is 16-years-old today, and all I can say is, “Wait… Whaaat?”

The whole thing feels so sudden to me, even though I’m absolutely clear on the fact that it’s not. Every year of this little cutie’s life is archived in my memory to the point where I sincerely can’t imagine a world where she isn’t in it or a day where she doesn’t cross my mind at least one time in prayer.

There’s a saying that you don’t get to choose your family, but in the case of the girl I’ve always called Booey, I would’ve picked her from the start. Even as a baby, she was such an interesting mix of my sister and my brother-in-law, yet I always sensed that she has a tiny piece me in her, too. Maybe I’ve just wanted to believe that since I don’t have any kids of my own. But whenever I’m around her, I find myself studying her, and sometimes, I catch her studying me, too! And in all of the ways that she seems totally unique to me, there is something rooted in my heart for this girl that feels incredibly familiar to me, too.

I think I have the most pictures of Booey on my computer hard drive — mostly because when she was a little girl, my sister used to text me pictures of my niece doing so many adorable and funny things. I’ve always loved the way this girl ticks, and knowing what she was up to all the time was sometimes the biggest highlight of my day! Booey was always doing something charming or quirky, and I always smile whenever I think about my girl.

I think it was for her 8th or maybe 9th birthday, Booey was going through a phase where pink sparkly things were her greatest passion. So I sent her some hot pink sequined high heels to play dress-up with — and the fashion show pictures from that birthday are some of my favorites! I was really tempted to pick one of those pictures for my post — because they’re the best!

Obviously, I didn’t choose any of those — mostly because I’m not sure Booey would see things the way I do! 

So instead, I chose one of my other favorite pictures of the two of us together. You can’t really see it in this header art, but we’re wearing matching T-shirts with some patriotic sparkles on the front — a gift Booey gave me within moments of my arrival at her house for a quick summertime visit. I loved that T-shirt — and that moment with my niece — and going back through all of those captured images of Booey’s life made me so happy today.

I’ve had some really tricky struggles in my personal life since Booey came into the world, and I’ve often felt so sad that I haven’t been able to do more for both my niece and my nephew in terms of spending more time with them, as well as sending them better gifts on their birthdays and for the holidays. But there were some very specifically dark times in my past where just thinking about Booey lifted my spirits. 

I’d think about how much I love her…

And how thankful I am that she is in this world…

And how happy I am that she is “my family.”

Watching my sister as a mom has been a real trip for me, too. There are times when I hear one of her kids call her “Mom,” and even now, it still catches me in a funny way! I guess that’s because I still remember when “Booey’s mom” turned 16! And I remember watching her learn how to drive — first, with my dad as her teacher, and then later on, with this middle school science teacher named Mr. Bobbitz — who turned out to be a little better at helping my sister calmly get the hang of driving in the insane traffic of the crazy city of Ft. Lauderdale. 

But all of it goes by so quickly.

And just like a speeding car weaving through impossible traffic, I always feel like I can’t keep up unless I go very still and savor what I’ve already captured in my mind. Flipping through all of those pictures of my favorite biological niece was really beautiful for me today. Remembering Madeline at every age gave me such a boost of happiness, and as she enters into this new year of her life…

I can’t wait to see what she’ll do next!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOOEY! 

You are deeply loved by your Cool Aunt Sonja!