Ina--my second daughter, the baby whom I breastfed for two years despite working full time and attending out-of-town hearings, the girl who is the mirror-image of her Dad but vehemently argues that she looks like me--turns five years old today.
Will I still love you?
How can I not love the little girl who keeps on telling me, "Mom, I love you with all my heart."
How can my heart not melt for the little girl who gives me her very own special drawings every night without fail and sheepishly apologizes because they're not perfect.
How can I not be amazed by this smart and funny girl who dares me to go hang-gliding with her and who, with a twinkle in her eyes, asks, "What do you call a snail that lives in a ship? A snailor!"
How can I not smile when I remember you agreeing with me that I'm fat but telling me two days later that I look great.
How can I not look forward to seeing you all grown-up and embarking on adventures on your own when I heard you tell your Ate that you need a flashlight so that you can look at the hieroglyphics on the wall.
How can I not be astonished to hear you, at age 3, used the words "exasperating", "compromise" and "hibernate" in our daily conversation.
And how can I not thank God for this wonderful little girl who has touched my life in so many ways.
Yes, Ina, I will always love you.
I will love you even if there MAY come a time when you'll...
forget to say that you love me with all your heart
get tired of making your special drawings for me
fail to crack your jokes
candidly tell me that I'm huge
stop inviting me in your adventures
just use simple words, or worse, not talk to me at all.
And this is a promise from me to you -- I will never stop telling and showing you how much I love you.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY INA!
