I quickly texted my nephew and arranged to meet him for dinner. This is my sweet boy that I grabbed from his mama and set off for the store the moment I got my hands on him. This is the boy with the big eyes and the red corduroy blankie that greeted me the morning his baby sister was being born and we hardly knew each other. This is the little guy I slid down hills with on cardboard. The one who honored me with a speaking part in his Bar Mitzvot. The one who hugged me in front of his friends when he graduated high school. The one who still calls me Aunt Ginny. I didn’t get to go to his college graduation, but I knew we would catch up when I got here. And, in keeping with my new rules, we have experiences instead of giving stuff. So, last night we sat for three hours over dinner and talked…as adults. It was really our first time to do that.

I’m so proud of this young man. He has a big heart. He has a lot on the ball. He starts his first postgraduate job in August but first he and a buddy are touring the Philippines and Vietnam. What a wonderful opportunity.

After I caught up on what’s been going on in his life, he asked about mine. He knew about the New York Times article and getting an agent but there were plenty of blanks to fill in. Then he asked me about the book I’m writing. I told him the story and his jaw dropped. That’s when I realized…he was only six years old when I overdosed and nearly died. He hadn’t known any of that had happened. Since he’s an adult now, and will be reading it some day, I shared the whole story. Love his heart. He’s such a compassionate young man. When I was done he asked if he could tell me he’s proud of me. That meant more to me than just about anything.

I couldn’t talk him into dessert. We left it at salad and a beer. But we gained a closeness last night that no amount of money could buy. And I am so, so proud of my A-Man!

Looking back over the past 16 years with someone you love who was totally unaware of what happened, made me realize those little words on the passenger side mirror are really true. Objects really are closer than they appear.

❤️

“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”

1 Corinthians 13:2 NIV