A Tribute to My Niece

She is my niece and my godchild. She is my sister and brother-in-law’s daughter and a big sister to my nephew. She is Alyssa, and she holds a special place in my heart.

We move away when she was a little baby. I never watched her grow into the beautiful, smart, and athletic young lady she is today; well not from up close at least. I was not there to be called upon at a moment’s notice to babysit and nor was I there to just pop in for a little visit any day after work or on a weekend. No, I did all my watching from a distance, a great distance.

Technology was our friend through the years though; emailed photos of the latest milestone or special concert in school; a video clip where and when available. Sometimes it was a link to a television appearance. Besides that, her mom would always send school and family photos so I was always up to date with her hairstyles and how grown up she was getting. I was lucky. I never missed out on too many things.

I always sent gifts at Christmas, starting, and adding to, an ornament collection over all her growing up years, plus something for under the tree. Gifts were usually sent by mail, and then in later years I sent her mom funds to purchase “something she might need” and then wrap it and put it under the tree. There was always a gift from Auntie. At times little somethings would go in the mail for Easter, and birthdays went from trying to buy the perfect gift to sending her $5.00 for every year of age she attained, so she could go shopping and buy something she really wanted. I have to admit, birthday presents were quite often late! You might think this was a little expensive, but it was actually well worth it to me. I was not around to be the auntie who could spoil her by buying things here and there or by taking her for ice cream or to the candy store. Aunties have to work hard at becoming awesome, and it was doubly hard from far away.

Over the years we made many trips so that I could share in some of the important things. Sometimes we drove, sometimes it was just me boarding a plane flying in for a quick visit just to be there for the dance recitals, her first communion; things like that. We also made planned trips home as often as we could, sometimes spending a couple of weeks while on work holidays. One of my favorite memories was when on one of those planned trips they were going to be away and we would not get to see them that particular time. It turned out they were driving in the completely opposite direction of us, on the same highway, on the same day and at the same time! We actually coordinated a roadside rendezvous to get a little visit in.

Alyssa just kept growing up and becoming a more amazing person as the years went by. She was in an advanced program in high school and was frequently on the Honour Roll. She excelled in sports, especially volleyball, which became her passion, and she even played on the starting line of her varsity team a year before she was actually eligible to play varsity! Alyssa was in also involved in club volleyball on her own time and travelled to tournaments throughout the province and even on a national scale. How thrilling it was to be able to see her play when the national tournament came to our city!

This brings us to today. Alyssa has completed her senior year of high school and is graduating today. Unlike normal graduations, there will be no ceremony, there will be no party. The situation is so restricted there will not even be a family gathering in the backyard like everyone was hoping and planning for. There will be no reason to wear that beautiful dress and get all dolled up, or wear the beautiful diamond necklace and the twinkly earring that were chosen for her with love. Still, she needed something to celebrate this event. Her mom has a great idea and then asked me to help create this memory for her; a photo book of her school years and what a task this was for me.

I did the layout and with the tools provided in the photo book application, I designed most aspects of the book, with a little input from her mom who added a little tweak here and there. The book has actually turned into two volumes just because of the number of photos there were. Kindergarten to grade five are in the first volume, while the second volume is comprised of grades six through twelve. We also added a special section with “Advice to the Graduate” from some of the teachers who helped mold her into who she is today. The pages are separated by grade level, each with its own background and font to distinguish it from the year previous and the one that comes next; and the final item in each grade level is her official school photo with a quippy little verse that I composed to mark her move from one grade to the next. Each one is pretty goofy but it is from the heart and adds a bit of fun! This is but one example.

~ Grade Six done. Oh, good heavens! Now moving on into Grade Seven. ~

I have now journeyed through every grade, seeing all the happy smiles; all the first day adventures, field trips, friends and fun. I have seen her personality grow with each passing year just from the photos alone and because of those photos, I have also shared in her successes, almost as if I was there for each and every one.

I want to thank my sister, Alyssa’s mom for giving me the honour of being part of this project. It means so much more to me than I can ever express. You gave me a gift of creating something special for someone special, and this will forever be a cherished memory.

Alyssa’s Graduation Gift - Our Labour of Love

In closing, I would like to say this to my beautiful niece, Alyssa – I am so very proud of all you have achieve in the last 18 years and I wish you much luck and good fortune as you pursue criminology, and begin that path this fall at the University of Manitoba. You are going to be amazing in anything you do, and no matter where your dreams take you. I cannot wait for all of the next milestones you are going to reach.

Happy Graduation Day, Alyssa. Your Future Awaits!