Another Circle

I am the mother of an eight year old today.

I woke her up at 2:11am to tell her she had just been born, 8 years ago.  I plan to wake her up, wherever she is, at that time for the rest of her life. Yes, I plan to be THAT annoying.

School is out today, so she got to sleep in. I was up getting ready for work and heard the familiar morning request..."Mama? Can I have chocolate milk?"  I mixed it up and took it to her in bed.  She was warm and soft and had delicious morning breath. I helped her sit up against some pillows, handed her the glass with straw, and laid my head in her lap. Her fingers instantly went to work, twirling and swirling my hair around.  When she finished drinking we snuggled face-to-face for a long time.  I put my face in her neck and inhaled as much of her as I could.

Last night she requested a teppanyaki dinner.  We were seated at the grill and then joined by two other parties. One was a couple with a 7 month old baby.  I wanted to tell them how quickly that 7 month old will be sitting next to them with her napkin in her lap, talking to the waitress with confidence, eating with chopsticks, carrying-on a lovely conversation. At the end of dinner we sang happy birthday (with tamborines! and gongs!) and she enjoyed an ice cream sundae. The waitress took a photo of us and we hung it with all the other celebratory photos on the wall.  I stared at the photo after hanging it, loving what I saw.

I saw a man, so handsome, so freaking photogenic!  He takes such good care of us, sometimes in untraditional and quirky/Clarky ways. We feel loved.

I saw a girl. A GIRL, who is absolutely blossoming as she grows. Each day her generosity, kindness, sense of humor, intuitivness, and insightfulness astound me.

I saw myself. And I liked what I saw. I saw my little family. 

And we have an EIGHT year old! 

Happy Birthday, Boogie. I love you like a love song, baby.