19

It has taken 19 years to reach this day, this one short 24 hour day. 19 years of preparation for a 24 hour anniversary commemorating the day my daughter made her debut onto the stage of life. It was a long awaited production, in fact most thought it couldn't be done. No girl had been able to break onto the scene up until that day 19 years ago. Oh there were boys, and plenty of them! 1/2 dozen to be exact, but girls, now that had always been a different story.
We did ultimately add one to the cast, and the one we got, she's the elite model, specially designed for the tasks set before her, she's one tough cookie! She's had to acclimate to what some would perceive as a hostile environment, what with all the shenanigans from the brothers!
For boys everything is a challenge to be met and conquered. Then there's the motors and the grease, and sweat and the smells, and the sounds they make, sounds one can hardly believe capable from a human!
It's tough to be a girl in a testosterone dominated world. The world she entered without choice 19 years ago, is now the world she would choose over any other. The world filled with six big brothers, to teach her the ropes. It's they who've been hard enough on her to keep her from being wimpy. It's they who've urged her to give it a shot, and planted in her the "I can" attitude, I can be an athlete, I can be strong, I can be successful, if my brothers can, I can! It's they who were in the stands cheering her on. It's they who've put her on the back of a motorcycle, and in the drivers seat. It's they who've been patient when she wasn't as tough as them, like when a lizard gets in the house, or like when a chick flick does that thing with a girls eyes, they still left room for her femininity. It's they who give her a piece of their mind when they think she's out of line, and she listens to them, because they are her world. They would, and have done, anything and everything for her that they are able, to make her happy. She is happy to return the favor.
The way I see it, the writer for this story knew full well who each of the characters would be, and in what order they would enter the scene. When I as the producer flirted with the idea of bringing a girl onto the set, I envisioned a little pink, and lace, and kittens, and butterflies, to mingle amongst the denim, and chrome, and critters, and muscles. It's been at the top of the charts for a solid 19 years, and the story continues to intrigue.
We celebrated the day with our usual sloppy joe lunch, all the brothers, and their girls, and the two additions who make up the the start of new family stories. There was cake, and gifts and cards. One of the brothers made her a birthday card with a silhouette of her with a question mark on the silhouette, and it reads,"whats missing?", inside it says, "we are just not us without you". I think that pretty much sums it up!
Happy Birthday beautiful girl!

Occupation Mom

What is more precious in all the world
than the sparkling eyes of my little girl?
When she looks at me, in dawns first light,
to her, even then, I'm a wonderful sight.

My dark puffy eyes and snarled hair
are not her concern, she's just glad I'm there.
And there isn't a place that I'd rather be,
than right here at home with her next to me.

What's more precious, or can bring more joys
than to be here raising a 1/2 dozen boys?
Each one unique in God given ways,
and He gave them to me, to brighten my days.

They love me in spite of mistakes that I make,
giving far more than they ever take,
when they come in from school, they'll find me home
there's no good reason to leave them alone.

Not for a paycheck to buy us more stuff,
we have what we need, and it is enough.
Some say it's sacrifice "just" being mom,
no social life, so little fun.

Things get postponed, sometimes, for a while,
but I want to remember each moment, each smile.
In just a few years when they are all grown,
I will look back at the seeds that I've sown,

Are they strong? Are they tall? Will they stand the test?
Did I give them my all? Have I done my best?
Where will the sacrifice truly have been?
I don't want to wish I could do it again!

Take time to be there each morning and noon,
knowing that they will be grown so soon.
Each day that passes another one gone,
childhood is over, time presses on.
P.J.