Freaking Fabulous

Today I am going to write about love.  Unconditional love.  My oldest daughter, who is 20, in the last two weeks has had her car broken into, and her purse stolen.  The culprits got her license, registration, social security card, debit card, and all the cash and gift cards that she had just received for her birthday, out of her purse.  Needless to say, she is having a crappy adulthood so far.  The oldest daughter had promised the youngest daughter, who is almost 4, to take her to see a movie.  Big Sissy had to cancel her little sissy date because of the theft, and how her days off happened to fall that particular week.  She had to go to the DMV twice, to get all of her document and ID's reissued, because without ID, it is like an act of congress to get anything that has been stolen, reissued at the DMV.

     She, exactly one week later, just picked up her little sister for their date.  The little sister was so excited!  She was excited that her big sister thought she was special enough, to drive to Kentucky from West Virginia, just to take her on their "sissy date."  This is a shining example of having family at the top of your priority list.  I am so proud of my oldest daughter.  Proud that the thefts did not knock her down, that she kept her chin up and kept on going.  Proud that she is such a loving, caring human being.  She is not my biological daughter, but she is mine.   She is a daughter of my heart.  She was the first one I got the privilege of practicing parenting skills on, she was the trial and error child(just ask her about the birds and the bees conversation), and she and I have had our ups and downs like any parent and child.  I feel like I had some small part in the beautiful woman she is becoming.  She has always had the biggest heart in the world.  She used to say when she was 10 or 11, that she and her cousin were going to adopt all of the starving kids in the world.  She has a heart big enough to do just that, when she gets a little older.  My heart bursts with pride and joy that she is such a loving young lady, because she has seen more than her share of adversity and heartbreak in her young life.  I am so very proud of her I could just burst!
     I just want her to know how very much I love her, and how very proud of her I am.  I am so very proud of her for making her little sister and our family a priority.  When most kids her age are in college, partying, etc., she is a full time manager of a local retail store, makes her family a priority, and still has time for the other people and passions in her life.  She makes time to drive an hour and a half to take her baby sister to a movie and lunch, what 20 year old does that? Seriously? She is a published writer, and an excellent artist.  She is witty, kind, loving, sweet, compassionate, dedicated, devoted to those she loves, intelligent, and hilarious.  She makes me the proudest "Ginger" ever. (She has always called me by my name, because when she was small, 'mom' had a bad connotation associated with it.)  I cannot express all of my love for this wonderful child on paper.  She always remembers birthdays, mother's day, writes me very eloquent letters expressing her love and gratitude for me, even from a young age, I mean come on, what mother wouldn't die for those?  They are some of my most cherished possessions!  I love her so very much!

     I am so very blessed to have this child in my life.  The picture above is when she was 11. The second one is an example of the unconditional love she has for her little sister. Taking the time to explain something to her. She will always be my beautiful little girl, not the grown up others see.  My partner in crime tickling her daddy, putting sticky creepy crawly things above the bed with her brother, to scare her father and I in the middle of the night, trying on her first formal dress, her first marching band performance and every one thereafter, her church plays, her school plays, trick or treating when she was a teenager, her first love and heartbreak, her first slumber party on the boat, and so many other cherished memories!  I am so glad that she loves her little sister so very much!  My littlest one is lucky to have such an awesome big sister!  I just wanted to share with you, and her, how very special she is to me, her father, her baby sister, and all those who know and love her!  It is always nice to hear how awesome someone thinks you are, especially when your hit with so much unpleasantness all at once.  So, I am taking this opportunity to tell the world how freaking fabulous my 20 year old is, and how grateful I am that she is mine!  I love you to pieces Alexandra Kyle Harris! And if you feel like a little zombie reading, here is the link to her current blog...The Undead Journals.