Lucky #13

HAPPY SWEET THIRTEENTH!

I can remember everything that happened on the the days each of my children entered the world. But with Brooke, I can remember the day so clearly, it could have happened yesterday. (I attribute this to being 18 and scared out of my wits)

Breathing through contractions in the back seat of Allie and Joe's car, the smell of the hospital, the perfume of the nurse taking care of me, the stick of the IV needle, the crack on the ceiling in the shape of a crescent moon. I can remember looking over and seeing my sister cry as Brooke came into the world filled with tears of her own. I can remember the first time I was able to see my daughter. But of all these memories, ,my strongest is of the night of her birth as I sat alone in my hospital bed. Allie and Joe had gone home for the night and it was the first time I'd been truly alone with my child. I realized I wasn't just "Leslie" anymore, I was someone's Mother. I was Brooke's mother. Brooke had made me a MOM! I sat there that night looking down at the tiny package I held in my arms and thought "How will I ever do right by this child?"

13 years later I'm still asking myself the same question.

Brooke is an amazing child. She is the epitome of everything that is good and sweet and kind. She is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside and she makes me proud each and everyday.

So, while this is Brooke's birthday, it's my celebration!