7/15/98

This morning, as I do on every July 15, I woke up thinking about what I was doing "X" number of years ago today. Today it is 8 years.

I was checking into the hospital and being prepped for surgery. My belly was swollen huge with the new human I was about to bring into the world.

We were fairly sure it was a little girl, but not 100%. I worried about whether or not she would be healthy. I wondered what she would look like and if she would love me as much as I already loved her.

Really, after lugging around an extra person in your stomach for nine months it is a relief to be numb from the waist down. I thought I would be nervous, but I wasn't, I was excited and couldn't wait to see my baby.

My doctor went to work and after some tense moments when the nurses had to push down on my belly rather forcefully to help dislodge her from under my ribs I had a beautiful baby girl.

I was assured that she was healthy and in possession of all her limbs, fingers and toes and then she was whisked away and I was put into a blissful stupor for the next hour.

Finally I was allowed to hold her and just gaze at her perfection. I knew from that moment that she would be an exceptional person and she is.

She is beautiful and brilliant and funny. She can make me laugh and on occasion, yes, she makes me cry. She is so loving, always hugging me and telling me she loves me. She is loving to others as well. When she gives love, she does so wholeheartedly and without reservation. I worry that trait won't always serve her so well in the future, but I'm glad that she has a caring heart. I just don't want her to wear it on her sleeve.

So, to my first baby on the occasion of her eighth birthday I would like to say "Thank you for coming into my world Zoe Rebecca and making it a brighter place. I love you so very much, Mommy"

(Photography by Steve Miller)