(for Henry)

So once upon a time, before there was Aunt Jan,
there was just Jan… no, wait, there was her sister,
Just, Donna, who married Just, Eric, and they

wanted to have a little Just or two, and they did—
first Lauren (who little brother Kevin called Nonen
because he could not say l’s or n’s for a long time)

and then Kevin (who became Kebbin Kebbin
Bo Bebbin). You know these two as Mama and Uncle
Kev, but they were the people who made Aunt Jan,

well, Aunt Jan. Little Nonen and Kebbin had an
Unca Kiff, too, who was married to Aunt Jan, and
we miss him muchly, as we do the grandma

and two grandpas who are no longer with us,
though GG, your great-grandma, is (I know, this gets
complicated), your grandma’s mama. And after your

mama grew up and married your papa, oh, how
they wanted a you, but you took a long time to show
up, my boy. We weren’t sure there would ever be a you.

But there you were one day, growing inside your mama,
as babies do, and there were a whole lot of friends
and relatives of your mama and papa’s waiting

to see you. And now you’re here, and I know this
is a whole lotta people passing you around
and smiling at you and holding and feeding you.

Like Aunt Ashy, married to Uncle Kev, who
seems to be one of your favorite people, along
with third cousin Charlotte and her dad Johnny,

whose lap you slept in this afternoon. And cousin
Dede, who is Charlotte’s grandma and mother to
Robyn, who is Charlotte’s mama. Not to worry.

You don’t have to keep track of who’s who and
who goes with whom. That’ll come later.
This is all to say that I’m Aunt Jan—actually,

Great Aunt Jan who goes with Great Uncle Dick—
and, as I told your mama when she was born
on my 29^th birthday:

You’re gonna love me. I’m gonna buy you things.

But mostly I want you to know that some people
(and you are a people) believe that we choose
our families before we land in these bodies,

and if so, you picked a really good one. Yeah,
I’m a bit biased, but look at you on the floor,
rolling from your back to your tummy.

You go, Henry. Keep on rollin’, little guy.
You gotta whole bunch of fans
here cheering you on.