Today, you are sixteen.  Sixteen; how is that possible; I mean, wasn't it just yesterday, I blogged about how frightened I was about becoming a mom of a teenager?

I still remember blogging about the year you turned ten!

Today, you are sixteen and, well, I'm still waiting for someone to invent a special time machine.  You know, something we can simply strap ourselves into and travel back to a time when, I don't know, life seemed a whole lot easier.

Remember when you and Heather would come home from preschool and how the three of us would spend the rest of the afternoon, curled up on the couch, watching television and pretending that we lived in a small cottage, in the woods, like Little Bear's grandmother?

How about the times we would visit Mama and Papa, when they still lived in the house I grew up in and how we would spend hours and hours playing in Mama's vegetable garden, or playing hide and seek behind Papa's grape vines; remember that?

Yeah.  A time machine would be fun.  Then again, what is it that my grandmother would always say?   You remember how you used to call her, "Mamama," right? 

Anyhow, Mamama would say:

"Spend all your time looking behind you and you will almost always end up tripping and falling to your knees."

Your great-grandmother never made it passed the 3rd grade and lived in a time when only "rich people" educated their daughters.  Still.  The woman had a very simple way of making other people feel good about themselves and, well, I still think she was the smartest person I ever knew.

I see a lot of her old world wisdom in you.

Why?

Because, even though I knew that you would have loved a BIG birthday, with princess gowns and lots of glitz and glitter (deservedly so) all you asked for was a sleepover.

"I invited 5 girls and said that you would take us to the mall; is that okay?"

Yes, it is more than okay. 

You ARE the oldest of four -- I realize it is not always easy to be the first in line -- but, your father and I will always remember you as the sweet little baby girl, who couldn't pronounce her L's and would tell people her name was:

"How-wee!"

Now that you're grown (almost) I truly hope that you will, one day, look back and know that, even though we may have tripped up a couple of times (or, twenty) your father and I are very proud of you and love you very, very much.

Even though, sixteen years ago, I already knew that you would, one day, grow up to be the kind, beautiful and sweet person that you've become and that it would also happen...WAY TOO FAST.

Because, I'm smart like that.

Happy 16th Birthday, my sweet baby girl.

Love,

[a.k.a. Mommy]

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