IMG_6349My daughter turned 6 today. It was a rainy, dreary sort of day. She was disappointed, to say the least. You see, it rained on her birthday last year too. And for both occasions we had a big backyard birthday blow out planned for her, which got back burnered by the outdoor elements. Woman plans and Gd laughs. And so I am reminded of how my Gabby came into this world. Needless to say, it was not as I’d planned it.
She arrived like a lightening bolt in a storm of chaos, nearly entering this world on the front seat of a Nissan Sentra. She did, thankfully, wait just long enough to make it to the hospital, but not long enough for the doctor to arrive. No, there wasn’t a moment to let her poor mama take respite in that beloved epidural nor finalize a name (as was the plan for what was expected to be at least several final hours spent laboring in the hospital). And when the lights burned out above the delivery table and the nurses went running for maintenance workers, she could only wait as long as it could take for them to scrounge up some flashlights. Yes, my Gabby was born by battery operated flashlight. Most people don’t this about her birth. The lights mysteriously blew out right above the delivery table just moments before she crowned. As she pushed herself through and saw the (flash)light at the end of the tunnel, she burst her way into this world like a cannon stopping at nothing in under 10 seconds. Not at all as I’d planned. You see, like the rain having its own plan for my Gabby’s birthday, Gabby herself has always had her own agenda – her own special plan. Just as she introduced herself to this world, very much on her own terms, with a vengeance and some well played dramatics, she has from that day continued to do things on her terms. Born by battery operated handheld lights in barely enough time to even make it to the hospital, my Gabby’s agenda is always an adventure.  Always unpredictable. Always theatrical. Always adventurous. Always fun (ok, not always). Always present. Always full of zest. And always ever so alive! So, a very Happy 6th Birthday to my Gabby Girl – the one who came to us like a flash of light by flashlight and who’ll always light up our lives.