The Adventures of a Country Mom: 9 Years Ago

At 5:50 am on this day 9 years ago, labor began and life as Hubby and I knew, was forever altered. After 9 hours of labor and a Cesarean Section, a beautiful child with red fuzz on her head entered into our lives and turned our world upside down. I remember crying all the way home from the hospital, hormones raging, knowing that I was not going to know what I was doing as a mother. We carried her, in her car carrier seat into the living room, sat her on the ottoman, and I remember asking Hubby, "What do we do now?" and at that precise moment, she scrunched up her little face and noises came from that tiny, precious baby that I only thought a grown man could make, to which I responded, "I know what to do now!" Over the past 9 years, she has never ceased to amaze me with her insights, tenderness and humor.

We are at #1 House and last night Belle spent the night with Hubby's parents, across the street, so when we woke up this morning, it was only Ariel and I in the house. I had purchased her a set of scrubs for her birthday and gave those to her, but her big present was a bike and we wanted her to be able to pick out the exact one she wanted. She was very excited about going to school and be with her friends on her birthday, so we made a sheet cake of brownies, frosted them and decorated it with a "Happy Birthday Ariel!" complete with sprinkles and 9 candles. I picked her up at school early along with a friend of hers, KJ, and headed to the city for a movie and dinner. We met Hubby at the theater and saw Gnomeo and Juliet in 3-D, very cute, then headed to tell her about her gift and pick it out! She found a perfect bike at Target, cute, pink and very girly. Next it was off to the Olive Garden for dinner with Grandparents, Aunt, Uncle & cousins. They brought her out a cake and candle and made her feel very special. KJ was a good addition to our family that night and I think the girls got a bit of sleep that night but they did have tons of fun.

As a mom of a 9 year old, I had trouble getting a grip on my emotions first thing in the morning. Hubby and I have always been quick to remind each other that our kids are going to be grown and gone before we know it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those moms who is going to need her kids to stay nearby, quite the contrary, I want them to be where ever God wants them, where ever they feel led to go. I want them to go to college and fall in love and have their own family, where ever that may be, but for now I want to savor them, keeping in mind that the future will be here before I know it. Nine is half way to 18. Half way to the future. Sobering for this mom. It's hard to remember life before Ariel, she had just brought so much joy to us. I'm so proud of her and the way that she is growing up, but I just don't want her to grow up too, too fast, but I feel at times that if I blink that I will miss it! So, I am going to continue to savor it and make many memories with her.