This Girl

May I just tell you

how much I love

this girl.

Still, after 10 years,

there will be moments

when I find myself

catching my breath

when I look at her.

I LOVED being a mother of sons,

just sons.

There was something very special about

being a mom

to those four sons.

But I always suspected

there was something different

about being a mother

to a daughter.

When Abigail was born

I felt it.

It was a very primitive sensation.

It had something to do with

passing on to my daughter

all the secrets and knowledge

of woman

so that she, too, could be

a Keeper

of all things mysterious to women.

How to bake bread.

How to hold a baby.

How to build a fire.

(The feeling really went back that far.)

Today we celebrated her birthday

with some of her friends.

Nothing primitive about today!

We went to the Rec Center

in the neighboring town

...and the girls did a little rock climbing

...to see how high up they could get

...and we spent HOURS

in the water

...swimming and water-sliding and jumping and diving

...and in the party room

Doug (Master of All Things Fun and Crazy)

got things going with the

ever-too-much-frosting-on-the-cake-so-what-should-we-do-with-it?

...and the girls got him back with a full-on-frosting-face.

(This was maybe a little primitive...)

It was a fun day.

We all had a great time.

And tonight, as I lay beside Miss Abbie on her bed,

and we had our quiet talk-time

before she went to sleep,

those feelings of

love

wonder

profound gratitude

connection with the ages

but mostly

love

crept into my being.

I really love this girl.