I'm sorry to add, I have two pre-teen nieces, and they are spoiled and ungrateful, while having every advantage in life. They are not interested in bonding with their fun uncle -- I have tried! -- but always eager to see that holiday envelope or package in the mail.

So if you're reading this thread and thinking your family's little rugrats are less than stellar, you're not alone!

It's what I imagine being a grandparent is like. You're only there to spoil them and do the fun things and then boom, back to their mom and dad. Not that parenting is something I don't want to do, it's just something as an uncle you don't sign up for.

I love it. It's the next best thing to having children.

Whenever they see you, they're usually happy because you're seen as an authority but not a disciplinarian.

As materialistic as people say I am (I'm gay, I don't have kids, I like my comforts) it really is so sweet buying gifts for them and seeing them react. Don't beat yourself up if you watch videos and think that's stupid...it really has to be "your" kids. However they are yours.

I have plenty of their drawings on my fridge. It's very cute. I never figured myself for that type of person primarily because I had to talk myself out of it being that kids weren't foreseeable in my future. But it's very sweet. Their faces light up when they see you and they run toward you.

All in all, it made me realize how selfish parents are. Having kids is really all about the parents. LOL

@semurg30

Most of my family lives in the US and I live in the UK, so I don't get the chance to physically see them.

We do chat online though.
I'm also geographically separated from my brother, who has two boys and a girl. I have the resources to travel, but I'm not as welcome to visit as I'd like to be, as my brother is rather homophobic. His (current) wife, though, is very welcoming.

My niece is now at university, and like many young people she is quite accepting of LGBT people. In fact, the last time I visited her, she make a point of introducing me to an "eligible" gay man. Needless to say, she's a favourite of mine.

I'm a grown ass man and I still meet my aunts and cousins frequently, celebrate birthdays together, Christmas and other events with them and I feel them as a part of my closest circle (not all of them but those I grew with).

For me, not having relation with my nieces and nephews would be inconceivable (If you have a good relation with your siblings and distance let you be there) but each family is different and that's fine if it works for you and your loved ones.

Yes, very much. Most of my nephews live in Madrid and we get together pretty often for lunch/dinner meetings or just to go out to have a drink.

We have a very close family relationship.

Most of my family lives in the US and I live in the UK, so I don't get the chance to physically see them.

We do chat online though.

Still gives me nightmares...