In the blink of an eye

I can still remember with the most vivid clarity the day that I knew. My husband and I had somehow convinced family members to watch the kids for a few days and escaped to Vegas.

Intending to have a few days of relaxation, planning to gamble and drink and dance, we found ourselves dealing with something else entirely.

The first night we were there, we walked to the Bellagio to watch the fountain show. The world started spinning all of a sudden and I could smell anything and everything in a three mile radius. It was overwhelming and instant.

I knew I was pregnant.

I couldn't even take a home test for over a week, but by the time I could, I hardly needed confirmation. I was sick. All the time.

I was so sick for most of the pregnancy that I asked the doctor if he was totally sure it wasn't twins every single time I saw him.

It wasn't. It was just one. Her.


She was the sweetest baby girl. The happiest baby. The easiest of them all. She slept through the night by a month old. She wasn't fussy. She hardly cried.

She was so quiet for so long that we started to worry that she wasn't talking. One day, though, she just started talking in complete sentences. She hasn't stopped ever since.


She's fiesty and independent, but wants to know that you're right there just in case she needs you.

She scrappy and could take on her big brother before she was even a year old.


She likes to go fast. All the time. When she was about four, we took the governor out of the Barbie Jeep and she spun the tires bald doing donuts in the driveway. She is her mama's girl.

She's easily my most perceptive child, and I'm pretty sure she's been here before. She has an old soul and a kind heart.


She has a clear sense of style, unlike anyone else.

She still climbs in bed with me most mornings for a snuggle. I have a feeling she'll be doing that for a long time yet.

The past few years have been rough for her. She was the one most attached to my father, and his death hit her hard. Since then, we've struggled to help her find happiness again, and I think we're finally back on that path.


My wish for her is a simple one.

Be happy, baby girl.

I love you.

Happy Birthday.