Happy Birthday, Rachel!

You will always be to me so much more than I could have thought a daughter could mean...

You'll always be:

The one who taught me I could be a mother even though I didn't feel ready for motherhood

Those long hours nursing you were hours no one can ever take away from me, and that even though my own mother bottle fed me, my nursing you is a powerful natural connection I'm glad we shared

The girl who always wanted to be in nature, showing me all your discoveries

The one who is not afraid of snakes

Outrageous finger nail polish parties with friends during sleepovers

Dancing with my scarves to Moby

Rubbing the backs of my hands unconciously whenever you took my hand for security

Always wanting to be in the middle of a bunch of kids...never shy

Sensitive

Stubborn, in all the ways that can be good or bad

The one who ate the entire jumbo pack of gum from my sister's purse when you were three

The only one in the house who asks me to buy Ramen Noodles

Long beautiful hair

Singing to yourself throughout the day, just like I do

Smart! Sometimes emotional

Hate having your feet confined

Would put on a sock, hate the way it feels, take it off, rearrange it, repeat

Hated the way bathing suits feel. At age five, the neighbor came down the street requesting you stop jumping through their sprinkler naked as a jaybird, waving your bathing suit...heehee

Making real mudpies in the flowerbed, and getting your friends in on the action

Words that will never be the same again. Grits will always be "Gips"

Asking me to tweeze your eyebrows

The time you paid a stylist to fix your hair "just like the magazine picture" for a special event, and then came home and asked me to undo it and fix it better :)

Teaching yourself how to dance, though your mom has two left feet

Sleepovers where you put on all the makeup in the house, with your friends, then took it off, then put more on again

"Not feeling so well" whenever we were about to go to church (back in the day), and your sudden "recovery" when I suggested we stay home and you take a couple tablespoons castor oil to help you with your rather vague ailments (miracle cure! only had to use it once lol)

When I started hearing you repeat to me the things I said to you...and my mother said to me

Amazing color artwork

A fascination with animals of all sorts, insect world included

Watching you watch the fish in your fishtank

Reading stories and praying at bedtime

Always always always hugging! And so many kisses

You're smart, so smart!

The times I knew what you were doing and you didn't think I knew what you were doing...

When you cut the creamy center out of the lasagnes and baked fettucinis when no one else was looking...and thought no one knew who did it, lol

Graduation. How could you have grown up so fast??

The heartbreak of divorce. How impossible it was for me to shield you from that loss of innocence

Learning to forgive

Reading me the Psalms when I'm discouraged. My reading them to you when you are.

Your first pair of glasses. Your retainer. Leaving your retainer in the school lunchroom. Finding it in the trash after remembering you'd left it.

Our Jack Russell who protested your removing him from your bed by peeing down the center of it.

Your hugs. Your crazy laugh!

Your first boyfriend.

Your sadness at being an only child, and how I tried to have siblings for you, but couldn't.

All the prayers for your safety, everytime you leave the house to drive to work.

When you were learning to drive and would close your eyes when the oncoming cars would come too close. How close you came to knocking over an old lady in her housecoat at her mailbox when closing your eyes that way, and Jack and I screaming "sttttooooppppppppp" whew, lol!!

When we were new here, and gave you careful directions how to find the house if you went jogging. Then we looked and you had begun jogging full speed the opposite direction, heehee

Donuts and Little Debbies, your weaknesses!

Hated onions till you worked in a sandwich shop and actually tried them on a turkey sandwich. Now you order extra...on everything

You never eat the crust of anything

How you love anything that looks Japanese



There's so much more I could write...but each new day, there'd be more. I'm so glad God brought you into my life. I hope He gives us years more to enjoy as mom and daughter!

I love you, Rachel. Happy 20th!