Today

As I write this it is 8:40 am, I’ve been up for almost three hours … I so enjoy the quiet and peacefulness of early morning both inside my home and outside on my patio.

But why am I feeling so completely exhausted and heavy? After all, I’m getting plenty of sleep these days.

Of course I know the reason – today is Liz’s birthday. 26 years ago my beautiful girl came into the world. And it wasn’t an easy entry. She was born on a Monday at 6:00 pm. I had been in labor for most of the weekend. We finally went to the hospital late Sunday night. And, although my contractions continued to get stronger and stronger and closer and closer together, I was making little progress. It was the most physically painful day of my life.

Finally the decsion was made to do a C-section, and my girl was born. She had a huge head of wild black hair and the biggest blue eyes ever.

She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. And at only a few hours old, her very strong personality was already coming through.

My parents came to see their first grandchild. As they looked through the window of the nursery, Liz lifted up her head and looked right at them, as if to say, “Here I am.”

She made our life “interesting” for the next 20 years. And “interesting” is not always a good thing … but most of the time it was.

We will mark her departure from this earth in eight days.

But all in all, even though I’m sad for what could have been, I’m also very happy for what still is.

And that is that Liz is still very much a part of my life. I know she is still very much a cheerleader – leading me, pushing me on to do things I never would have considered had she not left as she did.

The glass is more than half full – it is overflowing – and for that I will be enternally grateful.

Tags: birthdays, experiences