The Lovely Ordinary

There was Mickey Mouse everywhere.

Red and black balloons. A huge cake with bright icing. Gift bags and boxes piled in the corner of the room. My nephew, freshly two years old, sat in the middle of it all with frosting covering his fingers. He didn’t care much for the cake itself — just the icing. He would scoop it off with intense focus, lick it clean, and go back for more like it was his full-time job.

He was perfectly happy.

When it came time for presents, he was less interested in what was inside the bags and more interested in the tissue paper. Specifically, throwing it at his dad. Every piece he pulled out was immediately launched at him with a grin! It was chaos in the sweetest way.

His big brother — newly four and full of energy — was running around getting into everything. Curious about every bag, every ribbon, every distraction. I asked him if he wanted to sit with me while his baby brother opened his gifts.

Without hesitation, he crawled right into my lap on the floor.

And just like that, the two of us sat there together, watching. He leaned back against me, completely content, pointing out what his brother was unwrapping. We clapped. We laughed. We had a great time!

One of the gifts my husband and I brought was a tiny pair of baby Nikes. The birthday boy may not have grasped the concept of “new shoes,” but once they were on his feet, he knew they were special. He marched up to each person in the room, lifted his little foot, and just held it there — waiting for them to notice. Waiting for the praise.

It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!

Later that week, I was at my sister’s baby shower. She’s expecting her first baby next month — another boy. My third nephew. It wasn’t soft blues like you might expect, but it was greens. Earthy, calm, woodland greens.

After the shower, I went back to her house with her and our mom. The three of us stood in the nursery, moving things around, figuring out where everything should go. She’s decorating the nursery in a fantasy theme with dragons and stars and little woodland creatures. My mom and I helped put up some wall decals and decorations. When we stepped back to look at it, the room felt almost complete in a way. Like it was ready. Like it was waiting.

I don’t know if anyone else in the family feels quite as excited as I do. I can’t fully explain it. I just know that I am elated and so ready to meet our newest addition!

While I don’t have any children of my own, I still get to show up for birthday parties and baby showers. I get frosting-covered hugs and tiny arms wrapping around my neck. I get four-year-olds crawling into my lap without thinking twice about it. I get to witness little feet proudly showing off brand new shoes.

They may not be my children.

But they are my boys.