It’s a Girl! Throwback Thursday Edition

It snuck up on me, I don’t know how it did, but it did. Today is O’s birthday. She’s 12 and it doesn’t seem possible. I remember the morning we went to the hospital. The delivery was scheduled and B’s parents were here from Ohio to keep an eye on W and help where they could. When we came home with O – she didn’t have an official name, yet – we would decide between two choices: O and Hannah. We stuck with O and I’m glad.

October 23, 2002 - "It's a Girl" fly from the mailbox and leaves litter the ground. It's fall.
October 23, 2002 – “It’s a Girl” fly from the mailbox and leaves litter the ground. It’s fall.

So much has happened between then and now – O’s growing up and is now in sixth grade. Sometimes, she’s sassy, but most of the time she’s my O.

Today’s her birthday; and there will be more birthdays to come. There will be more growing and probably a lot more sass, definitely a lot more sass; but she’ll still be my O, and B’s too, but I write this blog, so she’s mine for now.

Last night we looked through the photos of her first day and we snuggled, laughed, and cried. It was a special day twelve years ago and I captured it with our first digital camera. The photos look grainy but we don’t have similar photos of W – he’s pre-digital and I didn’t think to bring a camera into the delivery room when he was born.

O and I - less than an hour old all swaddled and warm...
O and I – she’s less than an hour old and all swaddled and warm…

Since that first camera, we’ve had five more – including the two we are using now. And, we have loads of photos, more than I can process. I am not including our phones, which happen to have better cameras than that first digital camera from 2002.

O came into the world about 8:35 AM on a Wednesday morning. I had a sub in my classroom and my students were researching in the library. I don’t have a sub this morning, but I’ll share the photo and a memory. Later this morning, my science students will be researching in the library – just twelve years later; my how some things change and some things simply stay the same.

B's parents welcome O - grandpa passed away this summer - we miss him dearly - glad we had the memories of his laugh and the twinkle in his eye...
B’s parents welcome O – grandpa passed away this past summer – we miss him dearly – glad we had the memories of his laugh and the twinkle in his eye…

Tonight, will have dinner and a cake – a delicious Italian Cream Cake. It’s our birthday cake, homemade with real buttermilk and frosted with cream cheese frosting. You can’t beat it. A birthday in our home isn’t the same without it. But for now, I’d better get moving. It’s gonna be a great day. I know it and I can feel it, so I had better jump up, jump in and seize the day. Making the days Count, one day at a time, one memory, and one birthday at a time.

Have you ever come close to forgetting a birthday? Or, let one sneak up on you?

21 thoughts on “It’s a Girl! Throwback Thursday Edition

    1. Thanks Eli. It was indeed a good day and a couple of great days afterward – we didn’t get to go to dinner and haven’t yet – life has gotten in the way, but I grilled steaks last night and she was a happy camper. As for the haircut, when I see photos from the time period before ‘the rebellion’ I laugh! have a good week

    1. We’ve just been overwhelmed with life – B’s mom is ill, I have new assignment at school and it is consuming 3-4 times more of my time than previous years and it is the end of the quarter and grades…. I knew about it and she got an early gift – a Devon still #75 Bengals jersey but the actual just sneaked (I prefer snuck, but it’s incorrect) up on me this year, Next year it 13 and the teenage experience! Thanks for stopping in and have a wonderful weekend.

  1. Oh Clay what a delightful tribute to your special daughter. The photo of you and she is just beautiful. She has a delighted smile on her precious little face.

    I hope you have many, many more birthdays with your special little O.

    Patricia Rickrode
    w/a Jansen Schmidt

    1. Thank you – she’s my girl and sometimes more than a little feisty and sassy, but that goes with the territory. Growing up is not easy, especially today when our kids grow up faster than ever – or so it seems. I hope you have a great weekend!

    1. Thanks Coleen. She’s a delight. Last night she went to her first ‘6th grade social’ she had a blast. I picked her up and then we went to her brother’s high school football game and she gravitated to the student section and rooted the Tigers on to victory! It’s been a great couple of days and I am looking for the weekend to be just as good. Have a great weekend in your world.

    1. Thank you Margaret – she’s been working on the routine for being a teenager for a few months, the act pops up at the most interesting of times… then she reverts to her sweet pre-adolescent self. I shared the post and comments with her last night and she leaned over, put her head on my shoulder and said ”’;love you dad.’ I just melted. Hope you have a great walk through the countryside planned this weekend, enjoy!

    1. Thank you Ingrid – they do indeed grow up fast. I shared the post with the librarian and she remembered the day exactly as I did, except she helped project the picture on to the screen so my students could see it. It doesn’t seem like 12 years, but time marches on. Have a great weekend and enjoy the adventures.

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