Happy Birthday Natalie

This precious child, my second born, my only daughter, has a birthday today.

To Natalie

six weeks early, she was premature

we waited on the state of her lungs

her breath was fire, her kick was strength

survival after all

at three there was a neighborhood friend

with Barbie and Cabbage Patch and Strawberry Shortcake

a sweet, feminine girl

by ten she battled letting Barbie go

 to embrace a sport,

 her peers becoming her guide

with sixteen came volleyball, soccer, dresses for dances

and a defiance of all rules

but when we drove away from her college dorm

there were tears and a longing for what came before

now she faces the stages of life

with her own daughter

but always she remains

mine.

Love.

Mom

May 29, 2014