The wedding industry promotes itself as The "biggest" or "most important" day of your life. And when you're the bride to be, at the time, it is. There's this date circled in red on your calendar, and as far as you're concerned, everything in life is leading up to that day. You don't even think about beyond that day - everything you do from now till then, is about that day.
Then, you find out you are going to be a parent.
Suddenly, there's a new date circled in red on your calendar. Although this actual date has a lot less significance (how many people actually delive on their due date?!) you do have the general timeframe. And yes, you are DEFINITLY thinking about the day after. Because that is the day your life will change forever.
The biggest day in my life thus far was Sept 5 2004. The day my daughter was born.
My daughter came into the world at 10:02am on the Sunday of Labour Day weekend. Cute huh? Labour it was. They say that the brain has a way of making you forget the pain soon after, so that you're not forever traumatized by it. And that's true. Very quickly, the memories of labour were fuzzy to me. But look what I got in return.
My daughter is 3 now and is the sweetest thing. She was a good baby, as "standards" go. sure she had her moments, a lot of them, and she still does. She's 3 after all. But really, we have been so lucky. all parents brag about thier children and secretly (or not so secretly) believe their children are the cutest, the funniest, the smartest, the sweetest. I am no different. I feel truly blessed by my daughter. She amazes me every day.
Reason's why she is the cutest: she's not too big, and not too tiny, yet her spirit is mighty. At three years old she is very conscious of "matching" her clothes and is very quick to point out to her father and I if something we are wearing doesn't match (moreso her father). She wouldn't even dare to put on an outfit that didn't match. You try to make her. Her hair grows about 1/8 of an inch every year, and is incredibly fine. She'll barely let you brush it, much less put "pretties" (accessories) in it, so short is the way to go. She will not have long hair until she's able to manage it herself. She's into nail polish right now, and getting her nails "done" is such a treat for her. We truly have a little girl.
Reasons why she's the smartest: This kid is amazing. One of her favourite foods is broccoli. She will not touch pop of any kind. She was speaking before her first birthday. She could recite her alphabet and count to 10 in both english and spanish (Thanks Dora!) by the time she was 2. she never forgets anything. Which can be both a blessing and a curse. She was potty trained by the time she was 2, and mastered it in a weekend. Now, at 3 1/2 she can recognize all the letters and numbers up to 20, can spell and print her name as well as "Mom" and "Dad" and every other letter of the alphabet. She has figured out how to operate the computer mouse to independently play a game on treehouse.com. She can operate the DVD and CD players. She is obsessed with jigsaw puzzles. she understands rhyming words, as well as opposites. Her very favourite toy is a book. any book. From my work I know she's not "gifted" or anything like that, but to me, this is all very special. I have no worries about her academically.
Reasons why she is the funniest: The best thing about little kids is thier innocence and their way of saying it like it is. She once asked me how the baby would be coming out. While I was panicking inside, I asked her what she thought. Quite confidently she told me I would need a purple key to get it out. Simple as that. SHe also informed me she would like 2 babies. When I tried to explain their would only be one, she demanded 2 and was done with the conversation. Recently she told me my belly was too big, and that maybe Santa would bring me a smaller one. (Let's hope so!) But some of the best conversations occur between her and her father. More like a battle of wits. He often says to her "Relax, child!", which she now says to him, at the right times, and in the right contexts. When he asks her something she'll often reply "shh, I'm busy". One night she told him not to talk with his mouth full. Smartass? perhaps - but consider her parents.
Reasons why she is the sweetest: She truly is. She has such a love for other people, animals and all living things. She is so well mannered, always being truly thankful and appreciative of any gift, or unexpected delight, even something like an ice cream cone or an extra story at bedtime. She even said "thank you" for every single Christmas present, one at a time, before she opened them. and she meant it. Right now she's very generous with her hugs and "I love yous". She takes SUCH good care of her dolls and care bears and truly loves animals and babies. She tickles my belly all the time and quite often if we're out she's worried that Ivory (our cat) will be worried about her, or wondering where she is. She frequently talks about other people's pets, hoping they can come over to play with ours. She's very aware of where her toys or clothes came from, asking me all tthe time. If I tell her someone else gave them to her, she'll ask to call that person to thank them. She's very excited to teach "our baby" everything.
There are a million other things I could say, and of course I'm completely biased. But I have a child that truly enjoys, and gets excited about, the little things in life that we, and even many other kids take for granted. She teaches me something every day and for this I am so grateful, so lucky, so blessed. My husband and I are by no means perfect people, and will never know why we won the lottery when it came to our daughter. She's not perfect either, and i could go on about all of the not so cute, smart and funny things. But all of that pales in comparison. When you look at the world through a child's eyes, through my daughter's eyes, it really can be an exciting, a wonderous, an amazing place full of possibilities.
I am lucky enough that any day now I will experience another "biggest day of my life". I can't wait to look at the world through another little person's eyes, but also, to watch my daughter as she does as well.
xo.
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