To Presley

            Although this is long overdue, I feel that it’s still important to acknowledge. My household consists of my husband, my son, my 2 male dogs, my 2 male cats, and what I thought were 2 male rabbits, I realized that wasn’t the case about 5 weeks after placing them in the same cage, but that’s beside the point. For what seemed like forever, I was the only girl in the house. Rather than coming home to my happy dogs who wagged their tails, they would get so excited that they’d wrestle and chew on each other’s faces. Rather than cuddly kitties, they’d much rather wrestle with each other and race through the house sounding like Clydesdales instead of 5 pound cats. And rather than coming home to hugs and kisses, I arrived home to little Ben wanting to tackle me and ride on my back, and another person to pee all over the toilet seat. I realize that other than the toilet seat issue, everything I’ve mentioned is a sign of affection…from a boy.

            And then I was pregnant again, and all signs made me believe that it was going to be another boy. At 20 weeks I excitedly arrived at my doctor’s office, met Adam there, and impatiently awaited the ultrasound tech to call us back. Finally, she does….and IT’S A GIRL! Excitement, nervousness, and undeniable fear raced through me. A girl...someone to hug and snuggle, someone that will have pigtails in a few months, and someone I can take to get her ears pierced at age 6, like I did. A girl…someone to even out the hormone imbalance in my household, someone who can learn to pee inside the toilet rather than on the toilet, and someone to bake cookies with. A girl…someone who will have PMS, fall in and out of love on a weekly basis, skillfully antagonize her brother, and even more skillfully manipulate her father into getting everything she wants…someone just like me. As my excitement dissipated, everyone else’s grew about a new baby girl getting ready to make her way into this world. I couldn’t get over the idea that if this girl is anything like me as a teenager I wouldn’t be able to handle it, to this day, I’m not sure how my mother didn’t have an aneurism during my adolescent years. Overall, I was a good kid, and feel that I’ve actually turned out pretty perfect in my opinion, but as a teenager, I was a bit of a handful to say the least. I couldn’t get over the idea that this little girl who will be born will turn into a young lady that will catch the eyes of many watchful boys who don’t always have the best intentions, and I couldn’t help but think that she’ll most likely have her heart broken someday by at least one of these same boys.

            And then she was born, and she was the most beautiful, peaceful, little girl that had ever been created. I was in complete awe and the only thing I wanted to do was hold on to her for the rest of my life. Obviously this can’t happen, and I will not be able to protect her from the emotional dangers of her adolescence, boys that hurt her feelings, or PMS for that matter. I will though, at least for a few years, be able to give her pigtails, put her in pink dresses, snuggle with her, take her to get her ears pierced if she wishes…oh and pee IN the toilet! Now that Presley is nearing 9 months of age, she is crawling all over the place with the speed of an Olympic sprinter, her smile can light up an entire stadium, and she loves to be hugged and kissed, it makes her laugh. For now, my worries have subsided, and I’m in love…check with me in about 12 years, I may then have another story to tell!  

Presley, about 2 months old when this was taken.