Nineteen years ago my family was eagerly anticipating the birth of my second nephew.  He arrived in August, several weeks ahead of schedule.  I remember the first time I saw him in the premie ICU of the hospital.  I'd brought a stuffed animal -- a fluffy dog named Thumper.  I held it up next to the glassed-in bassinet and realized the toy was bigger than my nephew.

A couple of weeks later, at his briss, I held him in my arms and stood in front of family and friends as his godmother.

This weekend, that little baby J graduates high school.  This fall, he goes off to college.  Both our boys are young men forging their own paths.

Even though I'm not their mother and I no longer live close enough to see them all of the time, I swear I'm experiencing a strange, auntly form of empty nest syndrome.  Empty nest by proxy?

From the day each of my nephews was born, I saw them fairly regularly.  We did things together as a family -- Phillies games, days at the beach, mini-golf, movies, holidays.  I was fortunate that my brother and sister-in-law let me kid sit whenever I wanted.  Short weekends when the boys were very young on up to 3 or 4 days so their parents could enjoy a short vacation. 

I remember how proud I was the first year they invited me to "Special Persons Day" at their montessori elementary school.  It filled my heart to know that they considered their Aunt Mary a special person.

 I'd plan what I called aunt-nephew bonding excursions.  We'd go off to a local arcade and play pinball and other games, ride go-carts, and play laser tag.  In 1996 when the Baseball All Star game came to Philly, the boys and I spent the day at a huge special all-baseball expo with lots of activities.

A couple of years later, we drove off to Cooperstown, NY to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Even though I moved to Florida, we kept in touch.  I get up to the Northeast at least a few times a year to see them and we have our annual get-together vacation in August with friends.  It's always been important to me that we stay involved in each others lives even when we aren't in each other's homes.

I cannot adequately express the pride I feel when I think of how two small boys grew up into two terrific young men.  They aren't little boys anymore, running out of the ocean to jump in my lap and let me wrap them in a towel.

But we hug when we see each other -- and the connection is the same.

I've seen them play t-ball and soccer, act in plays, and do school projects.  I've witnessed their bar mitzvahs, and danced with them at parties.  We've played Boggle, Scrabble, Cranium and Poker together, and watched numerous movies.

I can't wait to see what they do in the next phases of their lives.

Congratulations, J.  You worked hard for this day.  You've earned your diploma and awards.  Go off to college and do more great things.

I love you!