Annabelle is 14

Time flies…no really it’s true…if you are older you know it’s true, if you’re younger you’re doubting this fact but take the time to enjoy each moments because time flies.

I know from experience.  You see Annabelle (my firstborn) just turned 14.

My first baby…14, she is the one who made me a mother, who introduced me to my calling, my passion my life.

Look at her, no longer a baby, a toddler, a preschooler, or a little girl but a teenager, maybe even a young lady☺.

She is almost as tall as me and thinks she is much wiser than me, she has grown and matured and figured out who she is and will continue to do so through the years but she is still one of my babies.

I close my eyes and it plays like a short film.  I remember the agonizing labour, her red round face, her cries, screams and cooes, her determination to move, to crawl, to walk, to play in my potted plants no matter what amount of security I put in place, her insistence to feed herself, her curiosity, her giggles, her laughs, her pouts, her confidence and self-assuredness to be a strong as, fast as, daring as any boy or girl, the first haircut she gave herself, her first days at school, her first visit to the principal’s office, her sense of justice and standing for what is right, her desire to help others, her loyalty, her devotion to family and friendships and willingness to forgive, her own sense of style and her sense of adventure and willingness to try new and crazy things.  These character traits have been there from the beginning and make up who she is today.

And the joy I felt when I first held that crying, red faced baby who put me through more pain than I had ever known I still feel that joy and I’m not gonna lie…there is still some pain…but a different kind of pain☺…heartaches and headaches.

Time flies, enjoy the here and now and cherish the moments because before you know it your baby will grow up.