My nephew and I have always been very close. When he first joined the Navy and was getting ready to deploy on a sub, we spent hours upon hours talking cameras. To skip all the details, he ended up with canon - they had sold out of Nikon. As a little joke, he just sent me a 24-105mm macro - COFFEE CUP! He knows I'm Nikon all the way but the joke is "canon has to be good for something, right? If I knew the mods wouldn't mind, I would have shared the whole story - but gotta say I love my nephew - for serving our country, for making a difference, and for loving me. My plan is to send him a Nikon cup! hehee45:biggrin:
When I was growing up, I was sort of an outcast. Never had many friends - even amongst my cousines (girls that is). When I found out I was going to be an AUNT, I was very happy - none of my cousins could boast that title YET. When Shane was born, I was happy, proud, and also nervous, what does one do with a nephew? I was only 14, had already lost my Dad, and geez, I was just a miserable teenager very isolated on a farm. Shane was the first diaper change, the first of a lot of things. As he grew, we just became the best pals - we'd often go behind his house around the levee and shoot coke cans with BB guns (I could out-shoot him then), prowl around the woods, walk to the store for an ice cream, etc. When he got older, I took him to the wrestling matches when he came up to visit. To this day he hasn't forgotten meeting the Rock 'N' Roll Express tag team, the gold fish I won for him at the fair, and all the little things - phone calls, letters, cards, etc. When he earned his Eagle Scout status, yeah, I was proud, when he graduated, I was proud. Shane was always and still is the best nephew an Aunt could have. When he joined the Navy, oh yeah, I was a proud Navy Aunt and didn't mind boasting about it. When he was getting ready to deploy for the first time to sea, he would call me and we'd spend hours taking about cameras, lenses, photography in general. His plan was to buy a Nikon, but when he went back to the little store all they had left was a Canon Rebel something. LOL, he waited until he was at sea to call me and tell me the "news." We've joked about Canon vs Nikon ever since, but I gotta be proud of Shane - he had photo privileges I'd never get - like getting to shoot with the President's own persnal photographer (G. Bush's), he and I think 4 others did a photography book for the Navy, and then he photographed so many very important people, beautiful places, etc., even while in the Navy he found things others couldn't, excelled in his duties, and earned the respect of so many. Shane recently bought his first house, now has a fantastic job since getting out of the Navy, his youngest son is still "NED" from neuroblastoma, his oldest is smart as they come, and yep, I'm still a very proud Aunt. I know my relationship may be typical, maybe just normal to just about everyone - but to me it never will be - it will always be extra special because of what he brought into my life. So, okay, I've just about written a book here, but gotta love my dear nephew the more - he thought of me, when in Hawaii - found a "Navy Aunt" shirt for me, brought me a beautiful moomoo, and other cute sweet little things from his travels. I even have an 8x10 of one of the subs he served on. That's another thing - He served on subs for 13 yrs of his Navy career - that's not an easy task - those fellas go down and can stay down for as much as 6 mos when they have to. That can tell on the nerves, moral, and just about everything when one can't see the sun, feel the breeze. His last few years in the Navy was onbard the USS McFaul. One of the last things I'll chat away about what his last station in Norfolk, VA. He made sure my niece, his wife took me on the base to show me around a tad. I stood within mere feet of a sub, I chatted with the guards, I saw the big beautiful battle ships, the carriers, learned the boats carry the same awards and ribbons that the men wear on their uniforms. i'm proud, I'm American, but best, I'm a PROUD AUNT.
Okay, I'll shut up. I'm looking forward to a cup of coffee in my Canon lens mug!:biggrin:
Oh, now when we get together, it's to go out and find something to shoot at - back to Canon vs Nikon, LOL
When I was growing up, I was sort of an outcast. Never had many friends - even amongst my cousines (girls that is). When I found out I was going to be an AUNT, I was very happy - none of my cousins could boast that title YET. When Shane was born, I was happy, proud, and also nervous, what does one do with a nephew? I was only 14, had already lost my Dad, and geez, I was just a miserable teenager very isolated on a farm. Shane was the first diaper change, the first of a lot of things. As he grew, we just became the best pals - we'd often go behind his house around the levee and shoot coke cans with BB guns (I could out-shoot him then), prowl around the woods, walk to the store for an ice cream, etc. When he got older, I took him to the wrestling matches when he came up to visit. To this day he hasn't forgotten meeting the Rock 'N' Roll Express tag team, the gold fish I won for him at the fair, and all the little things - phone calls, letters, cards, etc. When he earned his Eagle Scout status, yeah, I was proud, when he graduated, I was proud. Shane was always and still is the best nephew an Aunt could have. When he joined the Navy, oh yeah, I was a proud Navy Aunt and didn't mind boasting about it. When he was getting ready to deploy for the first time to sea, he would call me and we'd spend hours taking about cameras, lenses, photography in general. His plan was to buy a Nikon, but when he went back to the little store all they had left was a Canon Rebel something. LOL, he waited until he was at sea to call me and tell me the "news." We've joked about Canon vs Nikon ever since, but I gotta be proud of Shane - he had photo privileges I'd never get - like getting to shoot with the President's own persnal photographer (G. Bush's), he and I think 4 others did a photography book for the Navy, and then he photographed so many very important people, beautiful places, etc., even while in the Navy he found things others couldn't, excelled in his duties, and earned the respect of so many. Shane recently bought his first house, now has a fantastic job since getting out of the Navy, his youngest son is still "NED" from neuroblastoma, his oldest is smart as they come, and yep, I'm still a very proud Aunt. I know my relationship may be typical, maybe just normal to just about everyone - but to me it never will be - it will always be extra special because of what he brought into my life. So, okay, I've just about written a book here, but gotta love my dear nephew the more - he thought of me, when in Hawaii - found a "Navy Aunt" shirt for me, brought me a beautiful moomoo, and other cute sweet little things from his travels. I even have an 8x10 of one of the subs he served on. That's another thing - He served on subs for 13 yrs of his Navy career - that's not an easy task - those fellas go down and can stay down for as much as 6 mos when they have to. That can tell on the nerves, moral, and just about everything when one can't see the sun, feel the breeze. His last few years in the Navy was onbard the USS McFaul. One of the last things I'll chat away about what his last station in Norfolk, VA. He made sure my niece, his wife took me on the base to show me around a tad. I stood within mere feet of a sub, I chatted with the guards, I saw the big beautiful battle ships, the carriers, learned the boats carry the same awards and ribbons that the men wear on their uniforms. i'm proud, I'm American, but best, I'm a PROUD AUNT.
Okay, I'll shut up. I'm looking forward to a cup of coffee in my Canon lens mug!:biggrin:
Oh, now when we get together, it's to go out and find something to shoot at - back to Canon vs Nikon, LOL
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