On Tuesday, Feb. 6, my nephew and I watched history being made when SpaceX launched into outer space.

Daelyn, my nephew, is a 17-year-old high school junior. I’ve been telling that boy he was a natural-born engineer since he was seven or eight. Did he listen to me? Noooo! Then along comes Elon Musk. Now the kid is monitoring the NASA website and reading about astrophysics, astronomy and, you guessed it—engineering.

We waited from 11:30 am until 3:45 pm. A community of history-seeking sky gazers shared our experience on a rocky lip of land that overlooked a slip of Intracoastal water separating us from the Space Center. People of all ages and ethnicities strolled, chatted, sunbathed, snacked, read and prepped their cameras. All in anticipation of the launch.

Daelyn and I sat in canvas chairs. His youthful energy was a stark contrast to my need for a nap. Still, he looked over, face gleaming in the sunlight, and said, “This is it. We did pretty good, huh?”

Right now I am officially his BAE—Best Aunt Ever.