Thirty Years Of Her

There are birthdays that mark a year, and then there are birthdays that mark a life.

Today marks hers. Thirty years of my ‘Me, too’.

I had her when I was eighteen. A baby with a baby, now raising another baby. Not sure how I was going to carry us all through the world. Only sure that I had to. I didn’t know much then, but I knew love. I knew that enough love could cover all my failings. So I poured every bit of me into being the best mom I could be. 

And God…  Oh, but God… He so faithfully filled in the gaps I could not.

Her daddy prayed she would look like me. And she does a little. Some would say a lot. But to me, she looks like him. The unmistakable features that make strangers turn their heads and say, “She is stunning.” 

Because she is. On the outside, too.

I have always told people that she is everything that is good about me. Every single thing I love about me, she exudes abundantly. And so much better than I do.

She is an amazing mom. She chooses love, even when she doesn’t have to. And maybe that makes her an even better mom, even more so than the best moms… because she really doesn’t have to. 

She is a wife that most women would falter at being, (myself included), because she loves with a loyalty that does not flinch. I know no other woman who honors her husband the way she does. It is admirable. 

She is obsessed with her psycho crazy, most precious, rescue dog that God somehow stitched into her very soul. She is a sister who always shows up. She is a friend who always stays. 

She has built a successful business with her own hands, her own courage and her own vision. Something strong enough to stand on its own and soft enough to reflect her perfectly genuine heart for others. It’s not just a career. She is building a dream.

And I take minor credit in saying she cooks like someone kissed by God and The Food Network all at the same time. A skill I did not have at her age. All I can say is ‘yum’. 

She devours all the music genres (just not country), documentaries and reality TV with equal passion. She is evidence that curiosity and comfort, calm and crazy can all live in the same mind. 

She is hilarious. A comedian in her own right. Just ask her. Lol. Some nights we laugh so hard it hurts.

And she may be a little sarcastic… which is a charm she only recently discovered about herself and gleefully embraces.

She is so strong. Her faith in God is something that shines through literally every thing about her. She is faithful to others, yes. Yet, her love for Him whom she knows and walks through life with is a beauty all of its own. I am encouraged by her faith often. 

She is loyal. She is constant. She is the true definition of steadfast…

She is my beautiful baby girl. And she has grown into my safest place. Because without ever trying, she has become my very best and most treasured friend. (And, I do mean best and most treasured!) The voice I look forward to every single day.

God has gifted me the privilege of seeing this beautiful soul walking around in the life she has built and the love she gives so freely.

I look at her and I see redemption. I see answered prayers. I see a legacy I didn’t even know I was building when I was eighteen, and terrified, and in love with a little girl who felt like the sunrise in my arms…

Thirty years of her… And every single one of them has changed me for the better. 

If I never do anything else remarkable in my life, she is enough proof that God already has…

You are my absolute joy, Mariah Monique. 

Happy 30th birthday, angel baby. I am SO blessed to be your mom.

I love you most!

XOXO