I'm too young to feel this old

My nephew turned 17 this year.

And he went to his Junior Prom. With a girl. I have the pictures to prove it.

And then Dave and I saw him out at the movies. With 3 girls. He didn't see us. More precisely, he didn't see us before Dave told me to stop waving. Apparently, no kid wants to be waved over by their aunt at the movie theatre when they're with 3 girls.

Seeing him made me feel old. I've never felt old until that moment. I was only 13 when he was born. I remember patting his bottom trying to get him to sleep. And staying with him in the car while my sister ran inside the store. I used to do something that made him laugh out loud, I don't remember what it was now. When he was 3 or 4, we used to sing "Hold My Hand" by Hootie & the Blowfish. At the top of our lungs. Whenever I saw him, I would give him a thumbs up and say "Cool, dude." When I had jaw surgery and he visited me at the hospital, he wouldn't come near me until I gave him a thumbs up. That's how he knew me.

Then he grew up. When did that happen? When did he go from someone who needed burped to someone who needed to be fitted for a tux? I've never considered myself an overly sentimental person, but I nearly cried when I saw that prom picture. It took me a minute to register what I was looking at. My nephew, in a tux, with a girl. Holy Moses!

How do I stop the same thing from happening to my kids? I really don't think I can take it.