It's a bird. It's a plane. NO!! It's Sammy D.

(Yes, it's Sammy D - strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men).

Hey that's me!! Kidding. That's not really me. But it is my little cousin. See how cute he is? And tall. Very tall. He's only eight for crying out loud!! Eight and ornery as the day is long.

I've just recently started getting to see Sammy on a (semi)regular basis. His dad is my cousin (whom I don't even talk to), but him and Sammy's mother are divorced and since my aunt (his grandma) gets to babysit him a couple of times a week, we get to see him.

Remember when I mentioned him on his birthday?! Same little guy. But I swear he's grown a foot since then.

He's as lovable as they come. Seriously, Momma and I went over to visit Aunt Poot and Uncle Darrell and he just so happened to be there (you know, getting babysat over his summer break) and he walked right over to me, jumped on my lap, and hugged me until I almost couldn't breathe. Almost.

Then he insisted on showing me how he wanted his hair done (fire hydrant red) and he sat there on his Ipad looking stuff up and we just talked. It's amazing how much I have in common with him (mostly, our food palate- only I think his might be a bit more refined than mine). And then his mom came and picked him up and he made sure to give out hugs galore and "I love yous" for the whole crowd. And by crowd, I mean me, Momma, Aunt Poot and Uncle Darrell.

I don't even flinch or get an eye twitch when he hugs me (and yes, that is my usual reaction to children). He's getting far too big, far too quickly, but you know what? I'm glad I get to see it, because it really is an amazing thing to experience. I may not want my own kids (for real, I don't want any of my own EVER so quit asking), but it certainly is amazing to watch the ones I love grow from these teeny tiny little blobs of spit and cries into the awesome little people that they are.

And now if you'll excuse me, I have to go tuck my sentimental self back in. WHERE SHE BELONGS.

Where in the hell was I when all of this happened?!!

(This weekend I had a realization).

January has already come and gone this new year and I'm sitting here like- ?????

To be honest, I don't really keep up with time all too well. My intentions are good, but I just never have the follow through. I feel like I'm not the only person that has this issue though. I feel like most people are either very structured people (i.e. they know everything down to the exact date) or they're kind of willy-nilly with it (i.e. me). It makes life much more interesting. Or at least to me, it does.

For instance, this past weekend Aunt Poot asked Momma and I to go with her to her youngest grand-kids (my cousin) birthday party. We had no problem with going, so come Saturday we went to her house and all rode together. Would you like to know what I realized that day at his party?

You see, little Sammy there was born January of the year I graduated high school. How old was Sammy on his birthday? Eight. Do you know what that means? That means that this May I will have been graduated from high school for EIGHT YEARS. And I had a mild panic attack. Because how am I this old?! How was that so long ago?! When in the hell did Solae get so tall?! All very valid questions that I felt needed answered immediately.

And then I chilled the eff out.

Because so what if I'm going to turn twenty-six in a few days (the 13th). I'm happy with life and I feel like I'm at a good point in mine (for the most part). I do what I want, when I want, with whomever I want (you just wait until James Spader gives me a call) and I'm surrounded by people that I love and care about. And when I actually do take those moments to realize what time it really is, I always find myself surrounded by my loved ones arriving somewhere between laughter and wine. 

And that's my comfy spot.