Celebrating My Girl

Today is my daughter's birthday. In the last few weeks I have heard her lament a bit about her upcoming age.I don't quite see 37 in the same way she does but I understand her feelings. Of course the reality is every year is a gift and I know she knows that too but for her approaching forty seems like a huge deal. I have thought a lot about numbers lately,the mathematics of my life at this juncture. My granddaughter just turned ten. Double digits, a milestone and for me a reminder of just how quickly ten years goes by. That just boggles my mind and add to that the significance of twenty years for this family.Burton was 45, I was 42 ,Meg was 17, Chapin 13 and Caleb 8, twenty years ago when our life completely changed. Zac was 20 and his life was over. Twenty years have gone by and suddenly we have been without him for as long as we had him. The years have been kind in many ways, providing comfort, we have been blessed and here we still are. Five grandchildren have been added to our numbers. Years do go by ,one day at a time and it does seem the speed accelerates as we get older. Perhaps we just hang on tighter as the velocity increases and maybe we value our time even more. Having lost my Mom in September and watching my Dad's decline and with the lessons I am learning from Gladys I truly appreciate my present life and the age I find myself at the moment. Those lessons seem to become clearer as we become older and they can not be simply given to the younger generation. All the wisdom I claim to have acquired has come slowly and through the living, not the telling. I am so thankful for my daughter's 37 years and pray she be given many more.I celebrate all she is to all who love her and all she loves. I ask for her joys to outshine her sorrows, her peace to quiet her turmoil and her smile and laughter to balance her tears.