One year of cuteness :)

One year ago today, I became a great-aunt for the first time (and hopefully not the last...!). :)  Of course, last November, we had absolutely NO idea what kind of a year lay ahead of us all!  As much as 2020 has sucked, though, little Great-Nephew has been the very best thing about it, by far. He has brought all of us so much joy, even in the limited doses we've been able to experience it.  The worst thing about this past year has not being able to spend more time with him. We live so close -- just a 15 minute drive away -- but sometimes it might almost as well be 15 hours. :(  We missed his baptism, first Easter, first Thanksgiving and first Halloween, as well as just regular family fun times with him. at a time in his life when he's growing & changing so quickly. Yes, I resent it!  One of the big reasons we moved here was to get in on some of the great-nephew/niece action, when they started arriving. It doesn't seem fair that we don't get to have kids or grandkids of our own, and now we're being denied even this small pleasure too. :(  

We’ve decided we’ll go over there after supper tonight to bring him his presents, but wear masks & not stay long. With case rates skyrocketing again, the provincial government is strongly recommending not to socialize with anyone outside your immediate household. BIL, SIL and Older Nephew (the dad) all head out to work every day, and Nephew's Wife (the mom) regularly sees her mom, plus she's been seeing several of her friends. 

Plus, I have to take a COVID test on the 25th, two days before my hysteroscopy/d&c on the 27th, so I need to be extra-careful. By the time the 27th rolls around, I will have waited five weeks -- so I don’t want to jeopardize things, even for an adorable great-nephew.  I told dh that I will be REALLY pissed off if I take all these precautions, we miss out on fully celebrating his birthday with the rest of the family -- and then my procedure gets cancelled anyway because of rising COVID case #s. It’s a diagnostic/non-emergency thing... they were cancelled before, last spring, and it could easily happen again.   

But that's still 10 days away, and it's something I don't have any control over. Today, I just want to bask in the cuteness, and in the very real pleasures of being a great-auntie. :)  

Little Great-Nephew,
a few days before Halloween. :)