Birthday Girl

In three more days I will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the birth of my first child.

She is beautiful, amazing, talented, intelligent, loving and hilarious.

Molly was born beautiful. She brightened the whole world with her smile. Her eyes would light up and everyone else would feel they had to smile too...it was contagious. I remember when she would get in trouble and would look up at me with those big eyes wide open, a little pouting grin on her face, and say, "But, Mom, don't you looooove me?" She still got her spanking...but I loved her even more.

Molly and I would dance on the coffee table with the music turned up loud. We danced in the car too...and sang really loud. I would put her hair in curlers, add a little eye shadow and lipstick and we would have a photo shoot. We made a cardboard box into a boat and she paddled it through the living room with a wooden spoon. She made up songs and sang them to me…”Boom-boom mommy-mommy and a grape-a grape-a”.

I have pictures of her hugging the Christmas tree...for about five Christmases in a row. Also pictures of her imitating a cat, picking her nose, running around naked and making an endless parade of funny and weird faces. At times she would laugh so hard at herself I would make her put her head down between her knees until she got herself under control. She would make up funny stories and jokes and could literally entertain me for hours.

Whenever we were out and about Molly would hold my hand; not because she was scared of getting lost, but because she just wanted to be next to me. She was a truly loving daughter. Even as a teenager she would snuggle with me at night, give me hugs and kisses and tell me how much she loved me.

We went to the movies together...I remember she and her friend hiding under the theater seats because they were too scared to watch the movie. We read books, watched TV, played games and just hung out.

Molly has now ventured out to experience her own life. I miss her every day. I love her even more than I did on the day she was born. She was my greatest adventure and is my greatest accomplishment. Words cannot express what she means to me and how so very, very much I love her.

Happy Birthday Molly