I was granted an extra special gift just before Mothers’ Day – I became an Aunt for the 6th time. That’s nephew number 6 – apparently we’re strong with the boy genes on both sides of the family.

I love all of my nephews but the birth of this one was extra special. He was the first one born on my side of the family (and therefore likely sharing a few genes) and the very first one where I was able to experience his birth as it happened. And when I say “as it happened” I mean within the same day. And when I say “experience” I mean by email and phone. But I’ll take it. 🙂

Honestly, I didn’t expect to feel this connected to a child born on the other side of the world… and I didn’t expect to feel so removed from the celebration. Still, I know that this child and I are going to be tight. I mean we share a birth month, an astrological sign AND a chinese year of birth. Oh, and I may have had a little input on his name thanks to a well-timed phone call with my brother just before they made the big decision. See? We’re connected.

I have also never been so grateful for modern technology as I was tonight when we all had the opportunity to see him on the computer screen. Not quite the same as holding him but a lot more interaction than we would have had just a few years ago.

Introducing Charlie Benjamin… As you can see, he was happy to meet us too.

Congratulations Ben and Emma. We love him already.