An Auntie All Over Again

October 1st, 1997.  I was 15 years old and I'd just become an aunt for the first time.  Zachary Justin Proehl breathed his first breath, born to my brother Adam and his wife, Lori Proehl.  What a heaven-sent gift! None of my other friends would become aunts for a very long time.  My nephew had made me special.

Spring of 1999

Zach: 2 1/2 years old 

Me: 17 years old

Through the years, Zachary grew and became more often known as Zach.  He became...

a dinosaur-loving goofball.

our oldest ring bearer at the age of 6.

a dog loving, Harry Potter fan.

an "always ready to laugh at my husband's big kid antics" kind of kid.

and a movie loving, German studying, history buff at Winona State.

He is extraordinary.

October 1st, 2018.  Zach turned 21 today as Conor Clement Sonnek entered this world, born to my brother-in-law, Tyler and his wife, Cheryl Sonnek.  He has made me an aunt all over again.  He has made his brother Mason a big brother, a title that will stick with him for the rest of his life.  

His arrival has made this world fresh and new again.  He is my 6th nephew and will be the 13th child to call me Aunt Julie.  He is sweet newborn scent.  He is hope.  He is a little drop of God.

Imagine an ocean
and that you took a few drops from the ocean.
The drops would not be the ocean--
they would be merely drops of it,
of the same essence and substance as the ocean but not the ocean itself.
In the same way we,
who burst forth from a passionate God, 
made in God's image and likeness,
are not God. 
But we are little drops of God.
God-drops.

(first 11 lines of a poem by Edwina Gateley)