It's a Girl! - Happy Birthday Donna

Now what do we do? After five boys came along, Mom finally got a girl! Happy Birthday Donna and many more to come (she rightly escaped the customary birthday humiliating swats that can't be tolerated - only patiently endured).

Donna grew up a happy, playful child that loved to explore new things and revisit old favorites as well. Most are aware of the often told stories of her frequent trips to cold fireplaces to sample from the many rare earth elements to be enjoyed. Little did we know that she was ahead of her time. Now, health food stores bottle the stuff and sell it for $79.98 a pop!

She loved to travel as well. One favorite "trip" was waking early in her crib and rocking it all away across the hardwood bedroom floor to make sure I was up in time for school. I needed the human alarm clock, as many nights were spent warming her bottles on the stove and spraying hot formula on my wrist before trying it on her.

I think she is to blame for my love of baby food cereal. I would finish her uneaten bowls and soon developed a liking for Gerber cereal (please don't tell anyone). Back to travelling, we didn't know that it meant a long Las Vegas Sojourn someday.

As Donna grew up (please realize I left California for nine years when she was around six) it became clear that she would always be a person that openly invited you into her life, to include its ups and downs. Conversations always ran deep, beyond the weather, etc. and often into life's deeper issues and spiritual matters.

She has always been a deeply spiritual person, yet with an open mind, seeking the truth. She just has to be careful, as there are way too many people out there hammering us with Spirit-quenching nails of their version of the truth.

Donna seems to have boundless energy and a youthful spirit. Maybe that's why many young people are drawn to her caring, uncondemning side. This energy clearly shows itself in the atomic bonding she has with her children and her desire for their happiness, safety and fulfillment in this difficult and challenging time we live in. She will always be as helpful and supporting as they will allow. As a result, we often see just how loving and supportive her children are of her and her life choices. Some call it karma, I call it kindness.

So let's describe her as would David Letterman, well maybe a little different:

10. Entrepreneurial and hard-working

9. Loves being a Mom

8. Big-hearted

7. Inquisitive

6. Dreams big

5. Wants to better those around her

4. Inclusive and accepting

3. Good with people, natural leader

2. Seeks peace and contentment

1. May need this word of encouragement - "Who is there to harm you if you are zealous pursuers of that which is good."

1 Peter 3:13 KJV or "eager to do good" in the NIV.

Now as her birthday approaches, Donna has turned another important corner in her life that will require more than just the reciprocal support of her children. I hope we all will open our lives and hearts to her as she has to us and provide the underpinning for some potentially complicated and difficult adjustments ahead.

But if she approaches this time-frame with the same openness, energy and desire for adventure that has characterized all 37 years of her life so far, then what's to worry? It is 37 right?

Lots of Love,

Skyhidave