One Familial

Though there's an argument on my side that his birthday is the 22nd rather than the 21st due to timezones, by Tulsa Time, Samuel Jonathan Odom was born to my siblings Chon and Emily yesterday, on the evening of the 21st.

Sammy Superfly (Chon let Weird Al name the kid) is the second baby boy to be born to any of my siblings. He and Harrison (nephew #1 and firstborn grandkid) sandwich my three beautiful nieces. I'm not just saying that. They're seriously good looking.

Feast your eyes:

 Sitting in ascending order below are Ella Grace, Libby Rose, Gianna Aloisio, and Harrison Peter.

They're not particularly fond of taking photos, but meet them once and you will never get your heart back. Do you see Ella's battle cry there in the bottom? How cute is that? You know you're sitting there awkwardly laughing by yourself at your computer. Don't try and hide it.

Libby love is the older sister of Superfly. She is 2 going on 12. Bright, kind, and funny, if not a little shy. Absolutely loves animals.

When I met her, she shocked me with her direct, unwavering eye contact. Literally a day out of the womb and she could stare straight into your soul without blinking for full minutes.

Chon as a dad is a bizarre concept for me, even though he's had Libbs for 2 years. He's a really wonderful father, don't get me wrong, but he's also the guy who used to practice WWF wrestling moves on me and make me sign semi-abusive contracts before I could read. He's still my obnoxious, antagonizing big brother (hides my cell phone every single dang time I see him. I've had to chase his car down the street more times than I'd like to admit).

People grow up. Isn't that weird? Or people exist one day and don't the next. Or people semi-exist one day and are lying sweetly right there in your arms the next. Humanity is madness.

With the excitement of his birth comes a twinge of selfish sadness. He's the first birth I've missed. Even when I lived in Arkansas, I would drop everything and drive to Tulsa if one of my sisters went into labor.

Thank goodness I'm coming home in January rather than June, but still. I miss my family. I want to snuggle my nieces, ask for Libby's "first impressions", and hold my nephew. But life changes and moves us. Sometimes physically moves us. I don't want to miss their lives or be the aunt they only see at Christmas or on FaceTime. I want to come home.