Happy Birthday Sarah

Today is my eldest daughter's 18th birthday.  It would be most appropriate to share cute baby pictures, but, alas, I have none digitized.  So her latest family escapade will have to suffice.

Sarah is one of the most dynamic, passionate, loyal and charismatic people I know.  I see in her a fiery blend of her God-given kindness and patience mixed with the result of her circumstances - the authoritative leadership of a first born, the ability to express herself through a variety of musical venues, incredible communication skills.  Sarah is a beautiful young woman, with delicate features and a gentleness to her appearance that sometimes masks her fierce tenacity and passion.

She is a joy, often a surprise.  Life with Sarah means you are on your toes and never subjected to boredom.  She seizes life with intensity.  To witness the processing of her relationships, her challenges, the things she loves, the things that make her crazy, is to witness a creativity and humanity that is really unique.

It's hard to talk about one's child objectively.  Once, Sarah told me that I too often erred on the side of encouraging her and being proud of her for the things she does - particularly when they occur in our world of church and music - rather than who she is.  It's tough to separate sometimes the idea of her being a fellow musician, co-laborer, and woman with the fact that she is my child and I am her mother.

What a treat it has been.  My first-born, she made me a mother.  She has been a joy.

I feel great excitement and anticipation as she takes this next step towards embracing adulthood.

With her birthday being only one week before Christmas, celebrations get a bit muddy.  This year, we decided that the 18th birthday was reason enough to give Sarah the honor of placing the star upon the tree.  Another family tradition.

She proudly embraced the idea and grabbed the star.

Sarah's not the tallest of people, so - keeping with tradition - I said I'd pick her up so she could reach the top of the tree.

It was harder than I thought.

With visions of the entire family ending up sprawled atop a collapsed tree, we tried to move forward...

Reaching....reaching...

...and reaching...

Uh......

Eventually we righted the top branches and all was well.

Happy birthday Sarah.  You, like that star, are well-placed, shining brightly and nothing short of perfect.

I love you and I am honored to be your mom.