Today was one of those rare occasions when everything worked in my favor–my work life and personal life converged to a point where there was little difference between them. We are considering making some changes to how we conduct the graduation ceremony at my university but had a few concerns about how the revised process would work. To help get some answers the Registrar worked out a deal where a few of us could fly down to LSU to see their ceremony, meet with some of their people, and still get back home at a decent hour.

Okay, so why was it a special day? It was special because my oldest niece graduated from college. After starting with us a few years ago, she later transferred to LSU and graduated today with a degree in political science. She will join us this fall in graduate school and I am really excited about that.

I do have another niece and I have several nephews–and I love them all dearly–but there is something about Jennifer and she will always have a special place in my heart. You see, when Jennifer’s father was in school, they lived right down the road from us and we saw a lot of them. When my wife and I would walk down for a visit, I would usually take Jennifer outside (she often didn’t give me a choice) and we would play. I was the Uncle who did the things her mother and father wouldn’t let her do. When she was with me, she could swing as high as she wanted to and I would even push.

Jennifer and I had a lot of fun and then my daughter came along. Jennifer got a little angry with me over that because I couldn’t spend as much time with her anymore. They moved away shortly after that and I didn’t get to see her quite as often. The bonds we formed some twenty years ago are still as fresh in my mind today as if they happened yesterday.

Without a doubt I will be happy when all of my nieces and nephews graduate from college (none have started yet though). It will be a milestone in their lives, their parent’s lives, and in my life. But there will always be something a little special about Jennifer–she was the first. Congratulations Jennifer! I love you!