My nephew, Jim Agutter, is celebrating his birthday today. He’s 57 and I remember changing his diapers when he was a baby. He is my sister Leslie’s son, and he lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Karri, and two kids, Eli and Sophie. Jim is an architecture professor at the University of Utah and the Director of the Bachelor in University Studies program. He is an award-winning faculty member with multiple publications and numerous patents in technology solutions. In other words, he is quite the go-getter. He is also one of Ray’s and my favorite people in the world.

Jim is a big biking enthusiast. In fact, he and Karri are going in January with two friends on a three-month biking adventure to several of the “Blue Zones” in the world: Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; and Okinawa, Japan. Jim has bicycled alone across the United States twice and also biked from Mexico to Salt Lake City. He and Ray took a bike trip years ago from Texas to Salt Lake City. Though Jim may have just turned 57, he is still biking like he’s thirty (or at least that’s what it looks like from my perspective.)

I love Jim with all of my heart. He is sweet, kind, and decent, and has an easy grin and a propensity for laughter. He calls me Lender and I call him Jimmy and we are very good friends. I am very lucky to have him in my life.

Happy Birthday, sweet nephew. I can hardly believe you’re turning 57. Luckily, I’m not that much older than you are in the big picture. But in the smaller picture, I guess I am old enough to be considered your “elderly” aunt. Whatever the case, let’s stay friends. I couldn’t love you more if I tried.