It seems fitting that today, Mother�s Day, marks the ten year anniversary of the day I became a mother. Because, you, my baby girl, were the absolute best Mother�s Day gift I could ever hope for.
Before you came along, Melissa, I had no idea what it was like to love someone with an intensity stronger than the sun. I had no idea what is what like to love someone else more than I loved myself.
I was so scared of being a mom at first; I just didn�t know what to do. And I was so afraid of messing up. I mean, after all, your father and I were charged with helping you to grow up �well� � to grow up to be a happy, healthy, productive member of society. Suddenly, my life took on new meaning. No longer could I just coast along through the days, living my life the best way I knew how. Now, I had to learn to be responsible. My actions no didn�t just effect ME. And I was so afraid that if I did something �wrong� I would warp you for life.
Heck, that fear started that very first day in the hospital. I was holding you, you were looking at me, and that little pointed tongue of your kept coming out and almost licking your lips. And had no idea what you wanted. I admit it, I panicked and called the nurse to come take you. I told her I wanted to take a shower but the truth is, I didn�t know what you wanted and I figured the nurse would � after all, she was used to working with babies.
Ha. Turns out you were just hungry. I could have handled that.
And, as it turns out, as the years have gone by, I�ve discovered, �I can handle this.�
You�ve thrown a lot of stuff at us, Lissa, and sometimes, I�ve been left perplexed and confused, not knowing what the �right� thing to do is, but I�ve discovered that if I follow my instincts and always, ALWAYS operate out of love for you, things seem to work out.
And you? You, my Princess. Look how you�ve grown! Look how beautiful you are. You�re so smart and strong and brave. And you�re such a funny little girl. You have the best sense of humor, Melissa. And the way you love your brother and sister, the way you�ll take them by the hand and help them � you make me so proud to be your mommy.
You�re so protective of them. Heck, even when Ben was a baby and we took him to Miss Joan�s and all the other kids clustered around him � you thought they were going to hurt him and you got some upset I think you actually yelled at one of them �Keep away from my brother�. Oh, and that day Grandma and I had to take Ben to the hospital, when he was teeny-tiny? I doubt you remember this (you were only 2 and a half at the time), but you totally flipped out when the nurse was examining him and he started crying. You screamed, �THAT�S MY BROTHER!!� and Grandma had to hold you back from rushing the nurses.
And the way you�ve (finally) taken to Susanna? Oh, I know you didn�t like having a little sister for the longest time, but now I can tell how much you adore her. You love having this little girl who looks up to you. You�re her big sister and she is absolutely crazy about you. You two are so lucky to have each other.
So, Melissa, on today, Mother�s Day and your tenth birthday, I just want to say Thank You for being you. For being my little girl, my little princess. You�ve always been a terrific little girl but now, you�re becoming a beautiful, wonderful, priceless young lady.
