Due to my own lack of maturity, I sometimes forget its possible for me to have kids that are turning into adults. Even though it's an expected progression of things and because I've always had extra youngsters in the waiting, I never really noticed how quickly time was moving until I started planning my daughters upcoming 20th birthday for the 20th of November.
I've always made birthday celebrations a big deal. With four children, I like to have one day of the year devoted just to them. Anyone who has more than one child can appreciate how hard it can be to focus on just a single person in a household. And although I normally give each of my kids 25 percent of me, most of the time, (it adds up to 100%) don't judge, this day is all about them.
Thinking back to twenty years ago brings me to a time of mixed emotions: joy, happiness, and uncertainty just to name a few. To say that this small infant swaddled in a hospital blanket, wearing a pink and blue striped newborn beanie saved my life, is an understatement. God blessed me with 7 lb. 6 oz. little girl that would change my life for the better. Her sparkling blue eyes and belly laugh secured a spot in my heart forever and despite her future stubborn, tenacious and determined qualities that prompted me to purchase my first book entitled, The Strong Willed Child, she was and is, a ray of light.
Watching her as a young girl scoop up worms with her bare hands, build forts, ride horses and dream of being a doctor, not only helped with my patience and pathogen knowledge, but also made me question at times how I could possibly be her mother!
Her boldness and braveness are traits that I admire but were not instinctive to me. When I was a child, unless a worm accidentally crawled over my barbie while playing outside or I was buying a fashionable top with a horse motif on it from the mall, it never occurred to me that girls actually enjoyed dirt, worms and horse poop.
Now that she's grown up the worms and forts have been replaced with college books, and a dorm room, but the horses and future dreams are still progressing. Watching her learn and grow and continue to find balance in her head and heart will never get old to me. And even though turning 20 on the 20th will begin a birthday celebration that will linger on well past the day, it will be a birthday celebration that I will cherish like years past and in the future to come.
Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl!
