I could not have imagined what life would be like today.
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I would not have believed that I would be living in Georgia - for the second time! And that I would have moved 4 times to get here.
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I would have laughed in your face if you suggested that I'd homeschool my children.
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I wouldn't believe that I'd be out of the "workforce" for over 5 years already.
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I doubt I would have fathomed the number of pregnancies, or the pain of loss accompanying one particular, a perfect daughter.
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Because six years ago, I became a mother. It was actually about 9 months before then, but six years ago today, my arms were weighted by a precious daughter. A baby who would teach me a love unknown, a desire to protect unlike anything I'd experienced, a calling I hadn't yet heard. A baby who consumed my life in a new and unexpected way. Who fit right into my life, and we adjusted to life with one another as though we had always been together.
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My baby daughter was easy - she slept well and ate well and smiled a lot. She was a joy to everyone who knew her. She still is a joy to those people and even more now.
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Now that baby has become a girl. A beautiful and intelligent 6 year-old. A girl, not a baby, who one day will be a woman. A woman that I catch glimpses of, even at this tender age. I know she will be a kind, thoughtful woman - because she's already a kind, thoughtful kid.
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And during this day, when my precious baby is now six years old, I am trying to remind myself to enjoy each small moment. Each question, each cuddle, each time she caresses my cheek with her small hand... I know I'm doing the right things most of the time when I look at this beautiful daughter and see her faith, her concern, her commitment to her family, even her good manners. I know that God is leading us in this dance, this perfect dance of mother-daughter that is such a gift to me.
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On her sixth birthday, I want my daughter to know how proud I am of her. How happy she's helped me learn to be. How much joy she's brought into my life. How her grin only pushes me to turn it into a giggle or a full-on cackle.
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I love you, my precious girl. I pray your next six years don't go as quickly as these first six. I pray that I enjoy you each day, even the tough ones. I pray that you know in all of it that you are loved and cherished. And I pray that your faith only continues to grow as you grow taller and brighter and even more beautiful.
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Happy Birthday, my beautiful Bookworm.
