A daughter is...

I absolutely love this quote, because it couldn't be more true.

All mother's have probably heard the "they grow up so fast line", be it while they were expecting or while holding a tiny babe in your arms. I know it was told to me more times than I can count. I didn't believe it. Not when I first heard it while holding a tiny blue swaddled bundle, and not almost three years later when a very loud little girl was pulled screaming from my womb. She wanted back in and no part of the cold, cruel world. She did her best to make sure we understood this for the next ten months of her life. They were the longest months, weeks, days, hours, minutes of my life... at least they sure felt that way at the time. After our first child had come home from the hospital sleeping through the night, us having to wake him for feedings, and him only making noise when his world was seriously not right, this red faced little girl was a whole new ballgame. At the time I was pretty sure the universe had a cruel sense of humor. Loud as she was, we loved her fiercely, and she brought unimaginable joy to our little family. Even through sleepless nights I wondered how I had gotten so lucky to blessed with two such amazing children. They brought so many joys and challenges. It didn't seem like kids grew up quickly back then, I thought it would all go so slowly.



Then came the health problems, the doctors offices, the fear, bad news, and absolute fear that comes along with some health care professional telling you your child isn't perfect. We were told so many awful things during her second year of life that I lost count. I shed so many tears and time crawled by, at least that's how it felt. I guess that's always how it feels when you are waiting for answers you may never have. Our loud little lady proved several doctors wrong and started doing so fairly soon after they told us she wouldn't. She likes to prove people wrong. Still, time wasn't zooming by.

Here I sit, 16 years after Little Miss made her debut, crying like the big sap I am, trying to figure out where the time went. It's like I blinked and she went from crawling to high school. How does that happen? There was not enough time! Not enough sweet baby babbles, sticky kisses, chubby cheeks, little girl laughter, none of it. That said, I wouldn't go back in time, even though I cherish every memory of my little girl growing up.

You see, she's not a little girl anymore. Somehow she turned into a young woman. She's still so smart, funny, beautiful, and all the things she was back then but she's so much more. When I look at her now, I see more woman than child, less glimpses of my baby in a tiny pink bow and more the woman she will one day be. She kind, gifted, witty. She's a self proclaimed geek. She loves, sharks, Batman, Dr. Who. She listens to music that drives me crazy one second, then turns on Merle Haggard the next. Sometimes we butt heads brutally, other times we fall down in fits of giggles. She's been through so much and has been a warrior through it all. She is an incredible blessing and I am so proud of who she is.

She is 16 today.

Guess what? They really do grow up much too fast.