Another November Not So Long Ago
Today my first baby turns 28. She was and will always be a joy. Birthdays no longer hold the surprise of fancy designer jeans and Barbie dolls with long silken braids, but they are no less a celebration.
First children teach you so much. The love that takes you by surprise with its ferocity is such a revelation. A love that grows with each subsequent child's birth, but that initial wave is like swimming in the ocean for the first time, exhilirating, powerful and just a wee bit scary and overwhelming.
This daughter taught me a whole new special language. Nouns like "tee toes" for tennis shoes, "top pub" for bathtub, "nahni nah" for a swing, and "chewdies" for cherries. New states were added to the union like, Rolocado, and Valicornia. She dubbed her grandparents with names like "Baba", "Camp Pa", "Mimi" and "Meemaw". My brother did not become an uncle, he was "Gunkle".
A quiet, introspective child, she mothered her sisters that came later, and still gives her love unjudgmentally and without conditions. Now, with her own son, she joins that special bond of motherhood with me and sees the cycle coming round again.
Today would have been fun to spend playing with the little girl in this photo. Time rushes past us without permission. When I look into her eyes today, I see the child, the woman, and the mother. The child was mine, the woman herself, and the mother belongs to my grandson.
Quite simply, I love you, my daughter, for the gift you are to me. Happy, happy birthday.
4 comments:
Oh Pattie, I didn't expect to get teary eyed at 6am this morning, but here you are with another of these posts about things that REALLY matter. I too think back to that moment when Max was born and my life changed for the better forever. I had no idea the power that one little being could have.
No one writes about these things better than you, and we, your adoring readers, are so lucky to have you!
Tod, you sweet ole thing! Thanks!
Simply beautiful.
What a lovely picture. Daughters give us all kinds of pleasure (and sometimes heartache and worry!) - what would we ever do without 'em?
Your post brings back so many familiar emotions. Thanks for sharing it with us. And Happy B'day (not bidet or beignet) to your "little" girl!
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