A Momentous November.

Now that both of these events have occurred and been shared by those involved on social media, I feel comfortable talking about two momentous occasions that happened this month:

This past weekend my cousin got married to the love of his life. It was a beautiful, interfaith ceremony and a raucous party afterward. My family knows how to party at weddings, and the bride’s side of the family more than kept up with us. The bride and groom entered the reception to a pro-wrestler’s theme song. I had a damn-near religious experience dancing to “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire (I am REALLY into that song lately), and continued a long-running tradition of losing our minds to “Shout” by Otis Day & The Knights.

But, party shenanigans aside, it was great to see my cousin and his new wife so happy. It was great to see so many of my far-flung family members, many of whom I haven’t seen in years, all coming together for a wild celebration.

Before that, my brother and his wife became parents. They welcomed their newborn baby boy into the world and I became an uncle for both the first time and a third time. That sounds weird, but I promise it makes sense once I explain myself.

I already have two nieces on my wife’s family’s side. I’ve been an official uncle for seven years already, so being an uncle should be nothing new. But this is the first child born after mine on my side of the family. It feels different to be an uncle to a child born within my immediate family. Not better, not more important, just different. There’s a lifelong connection between my brother and I, so that years-long familiarity naturally extends to his child. I just hope I can be a cool uncle to the little dude.

This momentous November is just a prelude to the usual November/December insanity collectively known as “the holidays,” so a wedding and a new birth may be the harbingers of what’s to come. I hope so. We could all use this level of happiness and joyous transition.