Lilypie Kids birthday Ticker

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Seventeen

During the middle of all the fair hustle, bustle and excitement, a very momentous occasion occurred. My sweet, first born had a birthday. Her 17th to be exact.

Every time her birthday rolls around, I remember leaving the hospital on a bright and sunny Saturday morning with a tiny babe in tow and seeing the giant ferris wheel at the fair while sitting at a red light. She also spent her 1st birthday at the fair where she learned a lifelong love of carnival games. And the rodeo. :)

The fact that Taylor now spends her birthday week each year at the fair showing livestock and working Sweetheart shifts seems only fitting when looking at the beginning of her sweet life through that lens. Funny how things work out that way, isn't it? 

I mean considering I barely remember what I wore last week, it's kind of stunning I remember that ferris wheel so clearly. But it's like crystal.


Now there's no secret that I am unabashedly a super fan of my Taylor. She is truly one of my very favorite people on the entire planet. She's funny and sarcastic, beautiful inside and out, has a heart as big as Texas for both people and animals, is so very wise beyond her years, and I'm both encouraged and challenged by her. Daily.

It's also not a secret that the last year has been quite difficult in many ways for my girl. She's been through the ringer in several different areas of life. And, yes, I'm aware that's kind of how life goes. And that it's part of growing up. And that this, too, shall pass.

But it's hard. It's hard to see your sweet girl spend an entire Christmas break recovering from a tonsillectomy because she cannot get well. It's hard to watch her be unable to eat for the majority of a month after being diagnosed with a random, horrible virus. It's hard to see her have a random cyst found during that diagnosis and face another possible surgery. 

It's hard. But so totally worth it.

Because she handles it all with such grace and doesn't sweat the small stuff. She knows what's important. And what's just really not. 

She is also the very best big sister. On the entire planet. And that's not an exaggeration. She absolutely adores Soph, goes out of her way to make time for her (like when she wakes up on a school holiday to help the little get dressed for picture day or begs me to let her get Soph up before she leaves for school because "with my schedule, I won't see her for days otherwise"). There's nothing that makes my heart swell more than seeing these two together. 

Nothing. In. The. Entire. World.


To say that I'm incredibly thankful and feel so blessed to call this girl mine is basically the understatement of the decade. While I often wonder how these two are going to fare when Taylor heads off to college in couple of years, I also know that's an amazing problem to have. And we'll figure it out when we get to that point.

Just like we do most other things.

I'm not a perfect parent. Taylor and I grew up together, which has its own set of issues - both good and bad. But I know she's one of the best things that have ever happened to me. And I'd walk through fire to make her life easy, simple and nothing but happy.

But that's not what God has in store for her. For this season anyway. And, given the events of the last year or so in her life, I know - beyond a shadow of a doubt - that He is equipping her for a journey that will require perseverance. 

And that she's more than ready for the challenge.

I, for one, cannot wait to see what's in store for her life. Because I know it's gonna be big. And impactful.

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