My auntie-heart feels like it could explode (and Oregon feels so very far away). Emmett Foster, I love you already. All you ever needed to do to capture my heart forever was show up.
CHECK!
You know what that means?
No matter what, lil monkey, I'm in your corner forever and ever. I'll be your biggest fan, loudest cheerleader, loving truth-teller, and steady hand-holder. I'll be your shoulder to cry on, a refuge when you need one, and your car-dancing partner for life.
I will stand with you, walk with you, hope with you, and laugh with you (and, let's be honest, sometimes *at* you... but I give you permission to laugh at me too). I'll shoot straight with you, even when the truth hurts, and I won't pretend to have answers when I don't.
I will learn far more from you than you likely ever will from me, and I'm okay with that.
I'll celebrate with you your successes and victories; I'll sit in the heavy silence with you when life is hard and things don't make sense; and for all the days in between—monumental and mundane—I'll just be a constant presence, reminding you you're never alone and you're fiercely loved.
All you had to do was show up.
Down side? You're stuck with me.
Up side? You are already loved far more than you will ever know.