This Girl

 Half the birthdays in this house now simply baffle me.
This girl?  Fourteen?  It just can't be, but it is.

 

 

Always clutch a sausage patty while singing.  It's the new microphone.

 

Mildred Elise: a gentle counselor consecrated to God-- a great help to me and the finest big sister.  We are now at that teetering intersection between childhood and adulthood, and she steps from one world to another and back again without warning.  We relate as mother & daughter, yes, but also, at times, as comrades, which is strangely comforting as I remember the baby she was.  

 

She made her own birthday cake while I twiddled my thumbs.

 

Happy year, dear one.  May the Father guide you straight and true without too many growing pains along the way.  There is so much good ahead.  

 

 

We love you!