Mac n' Sweet Peas...

Yesterday we registered our oldest daughter for High School. High. School. Because if I whisper it, it may not be true  she is a...gulp...a teenager. Ugh! The dreaded "T" word! I mean seriously, HO-OOOOW did this happen? I vividly remember the day I found out I was pregnant, or the day I puked 19 times because the morning sickness was so bad, or eating 3 cantaloupes in one day because that was the only thing I could stomach... the 36 hours of labor, the first cry, how we thought she was the most beautiful baby in the world, even though her poor little face was so swollen from the 36 hours of labor...the car ride home in which I thought everyone was nuts and trying to run us off the road...the first smile, word, step...it's gone too, too fast. And I'm afraid that I have missed some off it, because I was oh so busy doing laundry, or dishes, or making dinner or locking myself in the bathroom because, come on people, I just need one stinkin' second to myself!

How did this little girl with the Nellie Olson curls turn into this remarkable young woman? How did the little girl that cut the hole in the window screen to "let the air in" turn into this selfless, brilliant, beautiful young woman? And she's got plans, this girl.  BIG plans.


We went on a mission trip last summer to Honduras and volunteered at an orphanage and let me tell you, something changed in our daughter...something big. The "I want/I need"'s turned into "no thank you"'s and "I've got all I need"'s. School seems more important now, with the whole mindset that the more I know, the more I can help.  Spanish is a priority... they speak Spanish in Honduras, ya know! High school classes were chosen with care and deliberation, with the end in mind. JROTC was  also chosen. She comes from a long line of military men and doesn't see why she shouldn't follow in their footsteps. There is talk of becoming a globe trotting mission doctor...and she can do it. She truly can. 


Because she has done so much already.