My oldest niece...

The Cousins

This picture is from a couple of years ago when we decided to surprise all the kids and take them on a Polar Express journey one night around Christmas.   Shame on me that I don't have a more recent one of all the kids together.  So this one is just gonna have to do. 

The athlete and the princess are very close with their cousins and as parents it's so nice to see the bond they have with each other and witness them grow up together.  The oldest of the bunch is my sister and brother in laws daughter.  She is the one in the back left corner in black.  We'll call her K.  She is 17 years old and a senior in high school.  (Hard to believe that when I met the coach she was a busy, full of life little four year old with a head full of curls.  Whenever it was time for us to leave after a visit she would run out in the yard and right up to the fence crying for her uncle not to leave.  Every single time!  I still remember like it was yesterday.  God I'm getting old!)

Now in the blink of an eye, some 13 years later here she is, almost grown up.  She is a big sister to 3, and cousin to 5.  All of whom look up to her.  And boy what a role model they have!  I could not have hoped for a better niece to watch grow up, love like my own, and set the bar so high for the rest of the children coming up through the ranks after her. 

She is mature and responsible, polite and kind.  She is trustworthy and has a great head on her shoulders.  For a parent I think these are all qualities that we work very hard to instill in our children.  I look at her and hope that one day my children will grow up to be just like her. 

K is the type of kid that knows what she wants and goes after it no matter what it might be.  When she started high school something really clicked in her.   She had her sights set on the future and going to college someday. She put her priorities in order and again dug in her heels. Her grades were amazing and something any parent would be proud of.   She started taking AP classes and looking into prep courses to ready her for the SAT's.   All this she did on her own because it's simply what she wanted. The typical parent nagging his or her teenager to buckle down and be responsible, think of the future scenario?   Never an issue with this girl.  She is a go getter.

When she decided to start playing softball and volleyball she did it the only way she knows how,  with a hundred and ten percent effort.  She never settles for being mediocre.  If there is room for improvement she strives to reach it.  If obstacles get in her way she climbs over them.   Failure is not a word in  her vocabulary.

All of her hard work is paying off.  Something amazing and truly deserved happened yesterday.  K got her first early acceptance letter to the University of New Haven.   I can't even imagine what her parents must be feeling right now, but as her aunt I am filled with pride.  The sky is the limit for this beautiful and talented young woman and I can't wait to see where her journey will take her.

K,  your uncle and I love you so much.  We are so unbelievably proud of you!!! 

(Just don't ask me to ride in the car if you're driving, ever again!!!!  Ha ha ha ha)

Love,

Auntie T