Another Birthday Girl .....

Jessica Leigh ... forever my baby,my first born,my saving grace.God sent this child to me at just the right time in my life.Our lives.Not the perfect time in some peoples eyes however for me,for Mark,a catalyst for change.And change she did ... both of us.Me,a nudge to grow up and step out from my selfish box of living life with my wants first and foremost.I have often said that Jess saved me from myself.I still believe that to be true.For that, I thank her and thank God.Jessica came blazing into my life on a cool spring Saturday evening,5:25 to be exact.She came into this world so peacefully.And I mean that literally.A wee bit too much spinal anesthesia given to me,found Jess entering this great big world sleeping.Not a peep from her.I wish I were able to post her first pictures from the delivery room so you could see her.Lifted from the womb... sound asleep.She barely opened her eyes for three days.Seriously.People would ask Mark and I what color her eyes were and we would say :Don't know,she' hasn't opened them yet.Peaceful and calm she was and she remains to this day to be,shall I say,the least high strung of us all.People often have a hard time believing this but Jessica never and I might even be bold enough to say ever,threw a fit.Ever.Instead she would bargain and debate and let her opinions be known with words that caught you off guard and made you think:How could a 3 year old possibly be right? But in the end,she usually was.Same holds true today.Jessica is absolute old soul.Always has been.I have a couple of those.It is truly a beautiful thing to see in your child.A wisdom beyond years.A heart full of kindness,loyalty,honesty and goodness.Things that can sometimes take a person a lifetime to evolve into.Not Jess.Jessica is almost exactly the age I was when I had her.Hard to believe, as I was not half the person that she is today at the age of 22.I am proud of Jessica on so many levels.Tangible ways that can be seen from the outside but more importantly inner beauty that can only be seen and fully appreciated if you know the Jessica we know.She is about to graduate from Pepperdine and has pretty much set her mind to going onto nursing school.With her unmatchable debate skills we once figured a career in law was in her future,but we actually think nursing will perfect fit.She has a unique balance of being able to focus on the task at hand,separating her emotions, while at the same time,exuding great compassion and care to others.Jessica's work ethic is unparalleled.She often is busy working two or three jobs.She also mentors and trains for Team in Training, for a cause near and dear to our heart:Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.Always busy and always taking the gifts God has given her and using them to the fullest.Jessica has maintained and nurtured a beautiful relationship with her boyfriend Matt for the last three years and well,I could go on and on but I think you get the idea.I have been blessed with this amazing child.I often feel unworthy for having been given this gift of her in my life and with that being said, not a day goes by that I do not thank God for believing in me at a time when I often did not believe in myself.Happy Birthday oogie-boogie.Today,as you said,was truly a "lovely day" and I love you with all my heart and soul.Ditto for Dad.