This Friday, Nov. 27, my oldest daughter Cheltsie will turn 28-years-old. This year her birthday falls on the day after Thanksgiving, just like it did the day she was born.
As a child, Cheltsie associated Thanksgiving with her birthday, for we often had the "whole family" birthday celebration during our Thanksgiving lunch, while the entire extended family was there. Her birthday cake was always one of the many desserts we enjoyed.
I never would have imagined 28 years ago that 28 years could fly by so fast. Time seemed to creep by back then. And now, all of a sudden, I don't know where the years have gone.
I watch Kennedy, Cheltsie's two-year-old, run around my house, and it seems as if it should be Cheltsie instead. Time seems like a blur; you know it happened but wonder how did it happen so fast. It seems just like yesterday she was learning to walk, learning to talk, learning to tie her own shoe, learning to ride a bicycle, losing her first tooth, learning to read, learning her multiplication tables, learning to write in cursive, being crowned May Queen, starting high school, learning to drive, playing in basketball and softball games, class rings, dating, proms, the senior trip, high school graduation, college graduation, marriage and then the birth of her first child.
The struggle was real back then – the struggle of homework; the struggle of hormones; the struggle of high school drama; and the struggle of learning to let her make her own decisions and to learn to fly on her own.
But I have always been so proud of the child Cheltsie was, the pre-teen she grew into being, the teenager she became and now the woman that she is!
Cheltsie has always, and still does always treat everyone she knows with respect and compassion. She makes friends with everyone and is a friend to everyone. Her moral values, her Christian standards, her work ethics and her dedication to her family and friends are her greatest attributes.
Happy Birthday, Cheltsie! I Love You and I Am So Very Proud Of You!
You are truly just as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside!
I'm so glad God gave you to me – 28 years ago!!!