My family will be celebrating a big event next June: my oldest nephew, who is in his mid-twenties, will marry his longtime girlfriend. I adore them both, and I'm genuinely and deeply happy for them. And the negative emotions one might think would apply to how I, as a single person, feel -- jealousy, embarrassment -- honestly don't.
But there's a splash of bitter(s) in the cocktail I'll be raising at all the parties leading up to the big event, where their friends and family members -- including me -- will surround them with love and support. I'll be living out the scenario I joked about while he was still in his early teens, of his never-married aunt dancing at her nephew's wedding.
It's not as if this turn of events caught me by surprise -- the wedding was on the horizon since they moved in together two years ago. I guess I thought/hoped that by the time this happened, I'd have a boyfriend at my side. This event is particularly fraught with significance, too. Watching my nephew enter a life stage that I've never experienced (and may never experience) feels -- for lack of what I'm sure could be a much better term -- weird.
I'm not the first person in this situation, I won't be the last, and there are a lot of things about it that I eagerly anticipate. But here's the truth: I sure do hope that by June 2014 I'll have MY person next to me, handing me a hanky while I cry during the ceremony... taking me for a turn around the dance floor when guests are invited to join the happy couple... bringing me a much-needed fourth glass of Champagne... and reminding me that I'll be the hippest great aunt in the history of the world.