My oldest child turns 28 today. That seems impossible. I guess I'll sound super cliche when I say "This is the child who made me a mother." And some more cliche stuff..."I can't believe I have a child who is 28!"
But in reality, this is the child who I learned how to be a mother with. I guess she was my experimental kid? The one I got to practice on?
Madeline has always done things her own way. She has her Dad's laid back nature and doesn't get riled up about much. Her patience comes from Bill too. She is like me with her love of surrounding herself with "things" and collections. She also inherited my wordiness, which I think is lovely. When she was not quite 2 years old, our pediatrician said he'd never seen a child who spoke so eloquently. Proud moment for me! Probably annoying for everyone else.
I'd share some cute baby pictures of Madeline if I could but I can't because they all burned up in the fire. Let me tell you though, she was the cutest baby, with a head full of hair and the cutest nose. She did have to wear a hat for the first few weeks of her life because her head was lopsided due to the vacuum extractor that was necessary for removing her from my uterus. That's a story for another time.
Madeline was the only one who got me to herself. It was just her and I for a couple of years. As the other kids came along she became the best big sister. She's still the best big sister. She spends several afternoons each month adventuring with a sibling (or two) in tow. I've always thought this was such a kind and generous thing for her to do. She probably spoils Sarah as much as I do. There's enough of an age difference between my girls that Madeline can sometimes be confused as Sarah's mother. This always makes me laugh until I realize that would make me her Grandma....
It's been fun for me in the past several years to spend time with Madeline as an adult. I mean she's the adult, I'm not sure what exactly I am now. But we've gone to a few concerts together and traveled together and doing those things with your very own grown up kid is pretty cool. It's like I've potty trained you and taught you to brush your teeth and now you're showing me how to call an Uber and giving me suggestions for the newest eye cream I need. She's my go to for things like that. She also fixes my computer and my phone when I've messed them up. She will tell me when my hair looks bad or when my clothes look dumb.
I could go on and on sharing funny stories about this girl. How she called her brother "Smee" (from Peter Pan--I was Wendy) for years or how she was obsessed with The Little Mermaid (to the point that she wore a red wig!) or how she loved the word "actually" and used it often and with a saucy flip of her hand.
Nah. Not today. Today I just want to wish her a happy birthday and tell her how much I've loved being her Mom all of these years and that I'm so proud of her. Her "Papa" (that's what she called Bill, usually with the same "actually" hand flip) would be proud too. He loved being your Dad so much.
Happy birthday, Madeline! I love you! And I'm really sorry that you started your life with a messed up head due to my inexperienced uterus.
