Good Morning and Welcome to Thursday, March 12, 2020.
Today is the 40th birthday of my daughter.
She was born on a Wednesday on definitely a winter’s day.
She was the third grandchild on her Dad’s side of the family and the second on mine.
My nephew was just three years old when she was born.
Lots of Aunts and Uncles on both sides to spoil her with love and attention.
Both sets of Grandparents and one Great Grandmother.
So tiny was my girl.
5 pounds 11 ounces and 17 3/4 inches long.
When we left the hospital for home she weighed 5 pounds 5 ounces.
Our little doll.
So much has happened over the last forty years.
We started off together at home.
Then off to daycare when I went back to work.
The next thing I knew you were entering Kindergarten.
Then you were standing up to bullies on the school playground.
My darling little girl.
Definitely a force to be reckoned with, in her own quiet way.
Creative from the beginning.
In middle school she participated in a play and I helped contribute by writing a poem.
A collaborative venture. So proud.
It was about saving the environment (we have been working on that for a long time).
My girl always great in the art department.
Some of the pencil drawings of her favourite model or actor or entertainer still put me in a state of AWE.
All through school as much as she loved hanging out with her friends, she was just as happy to be at home in her room, reading.
I started to read to her when she was in the womb.
She loved to read and read from an early age.
My girl did great all through school.
In High School she decided to get a part-time job.
She worked at Zellers, Blockbuster, Black’s Photo and Chapter’s over those early years including her first two years of University in Regina where she studied Fine Arts.
In the beginning she thought of Direct and Producing Films, which she was passionate about early on.
In her early teens she found a love of photography as did I.
She loved to snap photos of her cousin.
One day after completing two years of University and being unsure of what direction to take, she decided that she wanted to pursue her dreams of photography.
Applied to NAIT in Edmonton, Alberta.
This would mean a move.
She was accepted and was the only student from Saskatchewan that was accepted that year.
They had a rigorous process for acceptance.
I was so proud of her but was sad for me knowing that she would be living several hundred miles and not just down the hall from me.
She had been down that hall for 22 years and I was going to miss her.
Now I could certainly write a letter about our first forty years …. her first forty years.
I could not be more proud of another human being as I am of my girl.
She is loving and giving, smart and funny, generous and supportive.
Compassionate for all creatures.
There is so much to say that I could likely write a book and this is not the time.
Upon moving to Edmonton, she got right into school and working.
Most times working at least two part-time jobs while attending school full-time.
She worked hard and still does.
She met her partner in life while working at Blockbuster in Regina and they have been married for more than a decade.
Time flies.
She has photographed people, weddings, special events, pets and more.
We had / have a jewelry business together.
Just after graduating from photography she went to work for one of the City Councillors.
Today she continues to work for the City.
She continues to pursue her dreams in the art world.
Paper collaging these days.
She was featured in one of the first issues of an Australian Art Magazine.
She has collaborated with a “famous” videographer/producer.
We have travelled to Jasper and Montreal together.
Nowadays our thing is a small girls road trip in the summer.
The trip is within an easy drive from our homes.
Checking out quirky and interesting places along the way.
She has been a Mom to Elton and Penny, our fur babies, who watch over us all.
These days she is Mom to Aspen and Milo.
There is so much to say about this baby, this girl, this woman who is my daughter.
I love her more than words can say.
I am more proud of her than I can show.
I have watched this girl of mine grown in this phenomenal woman filled with grace, elegance and compassion.
We wish her all the best in the years ahead.
May your days be filled with love and laughter and your nights, too.
May you have good health, always.
May you always follow your dreams wherever they may lead you.
Life takes courage and strength.
Always do what feels right and you will always do the right thing.
Happy Birthday to our darling girl ….
So on this your fortieth birthday, my darling daughter and Alvin’s big sister …
Happy Birthday
With Love
Always & Forever,
Mom & Alvin
My New Life @ 51 