Happy Birthday, Little One

One year ago today around noon, a sweet little girl entered my life ... a little girl who is, of course, the smartest little genius baby ever. Again, don't even try to convince me otherwise. There are some moments in life that get seared into your brain, moments when you know that life as you know it is going to change forever. Sometimes those moments come from places of deep pain or sorrow, moments that bring sadness to the very depth of your soul. But sometimes ... sometimes those moments burst forth from unfathomable joy ... like when your son calls and says simply, "She's here, Mom ... she's here." I've been thinking a lot this week about my son's words that he spoke one year ago today, and I've come to understand that they were quite possibly the most beautiful words I've ever heard ... for so very many reasons ... "She's here, Mom ... she's here."

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned that I've been fighting a sadness this week, a sadness that has tried its best to wash over me and through me and around me. In tomorrow's post, I'll talk more about the why of "the big sad," but part of my sadness is because today is my granddaughter's first birthday ... and she lives in Canada. And I live in Kansas. That means there are lots and lots and lots of miles that separate us. And it means I've missed so many things with my only grandchild ... her first teeth, her first crawls, her first words, her first steps, and now, her first birthday. There are some days when it physically hurts that we live so far apart, days when it feels as though my heart will simply explode because I miss them so much, not only C.J., but her mom and dad as well.

I knew that I needed to come up with a way to celebrate my little one's first birthday ... I needed to do something special for her, something extra special for my granddaughter today (besides sending Mo Mo across the border to Canada). I had been thinking about it for a while, what to do for Coraline today, and it came to me at 2 a.m. Wednesday morning ... believe it or not, I get some of my best ideas in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. Yep, in the wee hours of the morning, I decided that today I would enlist my friends at work to help me celebrate C.J. in true sheephater fashion. I contacted my daughter-in-law to find out when she and Coraline would be available during the day to Skype, and sent a meeting maker to everyone in my office yesterday with the subject line, "A little celebration," along with the message, "It's a surprise. There will be food involved. Promise."

Becca and Coraline didn't know what the surprise was going to be as they waited via Skype, nor did the folks in my office as they gathered in the kitchen this afternoon. I had my laptop hidden away in the telephone equipment room, and after telling everyone what today is ... the birthday of the smartest, most beautiful little girl in the world ... I lit the candle I had put in one of the cookies, told C.J. that she was an honorary sheephater for the day, and listened as my co-workers sang a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday to my granddaughter. Coraline hammed it up in a big way ... smiling and laughing and dancing as my friends sang to her. Though it wasn't the same as being with her in person, it was a fun way to celebrate C.J. today ... fun for Coraline and her sweet mom, fun for my friends at work and fun for me.

As I drove home after work tonight, I thought about the post I wrote last night about sheep-hating ... about being pure of heart ... about the family that I'm blessed to be a part of at my office. I thought about the purity of the hearts of little children and how they truly have the purest, most innocent, most trusting hearts of all humanity. I thought about C.J. smiling and dancing this afternoon as we celebrated her big day. I thought about my friends at work singing to her as if she were ... well ... as if she were part of their family. And then the tears came as I said out loud in the car, "They sang to you today like you were part of their family, C.J., because you are ... you are part of their family, little girl, because you are part of me. Those folks care about us, Coraline ... they care a whole lot about us." 

So, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy birthday, Coraline, my little honorary sheephater for the day. I love you so much, sweet girl ... happy birthday, little one ... happy birthday!