Candles

Every time I'm struggling for ideas to blog about, hubby suggests that I write about what a wonderful husband he is. That's really not a bad idea – he's a pretty terrific guy!! We take good care of each other, he helps with the housework, and he laughs at my goofy jokes. What else could a gal ask for?

Thirty-six years ago tomorrow, I woke up as usual, all situations normal. By noon, I had a tiny baby girl in my arms. She came a month early, anxious not to miss out on anything. And my life had changed in ways I couldn't begin to imagine.

She was so tiny, still a little under six pounds when she went in for her one-month checkup. I can remember all those first-time-parent anxieties, waking up in the middle of the night and touching her gently to make sure she was still breathing. She took off and started growing, her big hazel eyes highlighting her face, as well as her big smile.

She was always active, not wanting to nap or sleep through the night so she didn't miss anything. When her baby brother came home from the hospital just 16 months later, her face lit up at the sight of him. From then until they went to school, they were inseparable.......in fact, she pretty much acted like we'd brought her a new toy to play with. Early on I had to put him in a playpen instead of the basinette – whenever he would cry, big sis would crawl into the basinette to see what was wrong with him.

As the two of them grew, there was no limit to her imagination and the things she would lead him into. In Oregon, where there was a lack of bugs and therefore no window screens, she dug into their dresser drawers and handed him clothes, which he would take from her and throw out the window. She scared the daylights out of me when she would get up and wander the house in the middle of the night. I might not have known, but she would raid the fridge and take food to bed with her. Imagine trying to wash a stick of butter off sheets and out of her hair!

After their baby sister arrived, the two of them would join the baby on my lap, and all three of us would rock. Big sis had always been able to control her brother, even though he quickly outgrew her. They would “wrestle”, and he always just laid on the floor while she sat on top of him. He never fought back. I remember too well one day when they were watching a “Bonanza” rerun. When the time came for the usual bar fight, both of them stood up and really got into the action. It was funny until big sis got too caught up, turned, and popped her brother in the nose with her fist. He was always prone to nosebleeds anyway.

She seemed so little the first day I sent her to kindergarten. Even though she was picked up by a district station wagon instead of a bus, she looked tiny crossing the yard. She actually started kindergarten a few days before her 5^th birthday. I wish now I'd kept her home for another year – hopefully I didn't scar her too much! The first couple of years of school, she spent time in the nurse's office with “headaches”....they always seemed to start at the same time as her reading class. We all survived that year.

In the spring of kindergarten, she started playing softball. They didn't have a helmet small enough for her, and she had to keep her ball cap on to hold the batting helmet into place. She attacked softball with the vengeance she did everything else – heaven help the coach the day she popped a foul ball into her own nose and got a nosebleed.....she wasn't about to come out of the game!

She's always been a fighter, something she's continued into adulthood. She's fought through her shyness and is an outstanding elementary teacher. She is an amazing wife and mother, keeping her sanity in spite of a full time job, one high schooler and one preschooler. She does everything well – including handling a real “girlie-girl” 4-year-old!! Quite a feat for that tiny little tomboy I raised! Happy Birthday, Sweetie!