Elijah William Jones

The first time his laughter unfurled its wings in the wind, we knew that the world would never be the same. -Brian Andreas

A year ago today, one of my favorite humans on the planet arrived. Eli, pictured above with his Aunt Kitty, is the son of my dear friend Nicole. It feels strange to call her a friend, though, because she and her family are also my family, in all the ways that matter. Months before Eli's arrival, I received a picture text from Coley one morning in November when I was at my doctor's office, waiting to get my physical for nursing school. The picture showed a positive pregnanacy test and I FREAKED. OUT. I don't know how to explain how much I loved him, from the moment I knew of his existence.

After he was born, via emergency c-section following a 2 day long grueling labor, I had the chance to spend the first night in the hospital with him. His daddy, David, had been up for 2 days, and was sent home to sleep. Coley's mother, Karen, stayed the night as well, but since I was the only one who had slept the night before, I looked after Eli while the two of them dozed. It was one of the sweetest nights in my life. He was the smallest, most perfect thing I had ever seen. I was, and remain, a total goner.

So we spent his first night on earth together. I paced the length of the hospital room that whole night, singing Kings of Leon and The Beatles and Elton John and Celine Dion songs to him, while he slept in my arms.

And today, he turns 1 year old while I am some 1500 miles away. On the list of things I was regretting missing this summer, Eli's birthday was number 2. (First place belongs to the birth of Violet Alvey, expected any day.)

So, Eli -- I love you more than my own life. You have brought more joy to the world than you could hope to imagine. Happy, happy, happy birthday dear heart! I am so sorry to miss the first, and hope to never miss another. Love, Aunt Kitty