Back in March, my sister gave birth to her first child. With that, I became Uncle Sean and my sisters became aunts.

That’s a weird thought at first because most of our parents had brothers and sisters, which made them uncles and aunts to us.

They all remain a part of my life, but it makes me think back to when I was a kid.

I’m happy that I’m only a 4.5 hour car drive away from home now compared to a flight switching planes in Dallas, Chicago or Charlotte before that. It helped, especially when I got to meet her a few days after her birth. Look how little she is and you can’t tell, but I was nervous making sure I held her correctly.

While my sister and brother-in-law take on the tougher role as parents, I’m left to figure out how I want to be as an uncle to Adelyn.

The biggest thing is to be a supportive family member and be a positive presence in their lives. I can’t make it home as much as my sisters to see her, but there will be chances in the future.

Also, how do I want her to see me?

Well, I hope she sees me as a nice uncle that would do anything for her and we all have that phase where we can’t stand our parents, so hopefully I’m seen as somewhat cooler than them at some point or maybe I’ll be as lame as them in her eyes (please the former!).

Only two months old, I’ve enjoyed watching her slowly grow and the photos sent to the group texts range from adorable to hilarious (especially the “mommy, I need a diaper change” looks in some of them).

It will be a while before she can form an opinion of me, but I hope she thinks I’m cool even as I get older.