As I told you a few days ago...our kids will no longer be sitting at the dinner table.
Our parenting days are over TODAY!
We took our son to college and now our nest is empty.
Actually our nest was made exactly 21 years ago today...
the day our first child was born.
Here I am 8 months pregnant after my baby shower.
I was 32 years old and so happy and ready to have a baby.
Early in the pregnancy, I had a vivid dream.
A woman came to me and said,
"The baby is a girl, and her name is Lindsay."
It was so strong and amazing, I woke up my husband and told him we were having a girl.
"No, we're having a boy," he grumbled groggily, rolled over and promptly fell back asleep.
Hubby was raised with three sisters, so he REALLY wanted a boy.
But, I was raised with three brothers...so I REALLY wanted a girl.
After that dream, I KNEW the baby was a girl named Lindsay.
Sure enough...that dream woman was right!
Baby Lindsay was born at 8:32 in the morning on
August 29th, 1989.
I look like I just battled two world wars after the birth,
but Hubby was out of his mind with excitement.
Forget about that boy he wanted...
The moment his baby girl was born, he scooped her up and never wanted to let go.
He went gaga over his girlie and nicknamed her Snuggles.
A few months after she was born, his parents babysat while we went on a date
to see the movie "Father of the Bride".
As we were walking out, Hubby started to cry.
"Tell me Snuggles won't grow up and leave me," he sniffled.
We have at least 18 long years before she even thinks of leaving us, I thought.
She brought such joy and happiness to our lives.
We could not believe how fun it was to have a little girl.
And, with a snap of our fingers...
She was a YEAR old already!
And, suddenly, she was TWO and I was pregnant with our BOY!
I remember sitting by this baby pool watching her with awe and wondering if I could ever love another baby as much as I loved Lindsay.
Turns out, I COULD.
My love multiplied and Lindsay was crazy over her little brother
checking on him every morning.
But she still enjoyed snuggle and popcorn time with daddy!
The kiddies grew...
And grew...
and we were stunned when it was time for Kindergarten.
"Why does she have to grow so fast?" Daddy asked.
We blinked, and she was in second grade!
And, always a wonderful big sister.
In fact, Lindsay always had a maturity and wisdom about her.
Even as a young child, she would spew out inspired advice.
She had amazing compassion for others.
I always felt she was an old soul and friends gravitated to her.
And, she was still Daddy's Snuggles.
But something happened when she turned eleven.
That Christmas, as we were putting up the tree,
Lindsay got all pouty.
She ran to her room thinking it was "dumb" to be with her family.
Daddy was pretty darn devastated,
but I knew it was normal for her to begin breaking away from the family.
She was growing up and did smile for the Christmas card picture, but insisted
on removing her teeth retainer:
Now, friends seemed more important.
She had a total blast in sports, girl scouts and just playing around with her pals.
Please don't tell our neighbors the girls toilet-papered their house
at Lindsay's 13th birthday slumber party.
When Lindsay started high school and attended her first formal dance,
Daddy cried again.
"How can Snuggles have grown so quickly into a beautiful young lady?"
When she was a junior, her friends were going shopping to buy dresses for the Homecoming dance.
Lindsay declined to go.
She said, "No, I only do that with my mom."
Tears sprang into my eyes when I heard her say that.
In a flash, she graduated!
I am actually crying after I loaded that last picture.
She is now a senior in college and has grown into a special young woman.
Her wisdom and caring for others led her to pursue a degree in counseling.
She has worked as a counselor for disadvantaged teens and intercity youth.
After moving our son into the dorm today,
We dropped by Lindsay's apartment to bring her 21 birthday cupcakes.
Thank you, precious girl for bringing such joy and happiness into my life
and for growing into a fine and loving human that I am proud to send into the world...
and, for always being my baby...
You will always be Snuggles to us!