Family

Today, I was going through some old pictures that I had been tagged in on facebook, and just kept clicking through. I got to a section of the album that had pictures from the time of my baptism. More importantly, there were a few pictures of me with my uncle who passed in 2005. I sat there admiring the pictures for a few minutes, and when I got to this one

I couldn't help but linger for a moment. I have always loved this picture. It shows just how much I love and look up to my uncle and also just how much he loves me. The candid nature of this shot is what really gets me. I absolutely love it, and every time I look at it, it reminds me how much I miss him.

After looking at the picture for a minute or so, I clicked "next", having no idea what was about to pop up. As it turns out, that had been the last picture in the album, and I was brought back to the first picture, which just happens to be this one:

a picture of me holding my niece. Wow, what a feeling. The reality of my "aunt-hood" really set in. My uncle has always meant so much to me, and he was always there when I needed him. He showed more love to me than I even knew could exist in a person. When the picture of me with my niece followed directly after the one with my uncle, it brought me to tears. I finally understood just what I meant to my uncle. I love this little girl to pieces, and I can only hope that I will have the profound impact on her that my uncle had on me.

Thanks for reading!

~Caitlyn =)