If You See My Little Girl…….

Please send her home. She is five years old and loves to smile for the camera while she holds up the Barbie doll that she got for her birthday. She stands about this high and her name is Hannah. She is still so little and she needs her mommy and daddy so please send her home.

Sigh…..Yesterday was Hannah’s birthday and today was the party. She’s nine now. Only nine but so grown up. This was the first year that she didn’t want Staci to make her a birthday shirt. Too cool for that now.

I remember taking pictures of her then….with her birthday shirt on. All smiley, loving that she is with us on her day. She still loves us, to be sure, but now her friends are becoming important. We are fortunate, thus far, in that Hannah is gravitating to the kids that you wish your kid would hang out with. All good girls who are into sports and their grades.

I took this picture today of Hannah and a couple of her friends at the party. As soon as I took it I knew it was different than any other picture I had taken. As soon as I took it I knew I didn’t want to look at the screen. I knew that Hannah and her friends had crossed a line. This is the first picture where they are acting like kids act. This picture represents a relationship of Hannah’s that isn’t all about me. It’s about her and her friends. I want to cry.

Maddie, the girl on the left, is a great kid. She’s a forward on Hannah’s soccer team and in her class. She is definitely one of the good ones. The other girl is Anna. One of the sweetest girls. Her and Hannah have been friends since birth. There were nine girls at the party and I truly like every single one of them.

She just looks so old here. So grown up. The first year without her birthday shirt on. I now have competition and her name is Maddie. That’s tough competition there.

Happy birthday, baby. So far you are turning out just like I had hoped you would. Just wear the shirt next year. Not for you, for me.

Wear it for me.