Happy Birthday, Teddy Bear~!

My Teddy Bear turned 20~! 

I wish I had all my early photos on my computer so you could see what I remember so well. She has always been a tiny little thing. Not in a great hurry to talk...her big sister the Hot Tamale was the vocal virtuoso. Teddy was my wild woman. 

Her hair was always wild and unbrushed....red hair that flew in all directions with a constantly smudged face. She could climb so well that I regularly learned to look UP to find her. At soccer practices, if I lost track of her for a minute, she would toddle off to the nearest fence to climb it. I would look over and there would be Teddy, 18-months-old, scaling the fence...a six-foot chain link fence. I have no idea how many times I would catch her at the top just in time before she launched herself over the fence. I am sure that mommy adrenalin aged me significantly. 

She was in such a hurry to be born...four hours from first contraction to delivery. Scared the heck out of me it went so fast. I remember the day she was born we did not have a name yet. Nada. Nothing. Zilch. We NEVER agreed on a boy's name and a girl's name we kept going back and forth on. I had my first contraction and was wondering if I should say something or wait until I knew for sure when my ex came running into the room to tell me he finally figured out a name~! So my daughter is named after the goalie for the Los Angeles Kings. Yep. A hockey player. I think maybe we jinxed ourselves into a tomboy. 

She is the kid that if you told her no, it meant hurry up and do it faster before I stopped her. She is the animal lover. She rode horses for years. The first horse she rode was Kramer, about 16 to 17 hands. Huge, huge horse and she was so small and so happy to be there that I'm not sure it dawned on her to be afraid. Even when he took off galloping and she held on the whole way. Thank heavens for carrots. 

She is such a precious part of my life. Quick witted. Funny. And beneath all the bluster and cynicism of youth, she is warm and generous. She loves to sit with the "adults" and gab with us. She tells me so much of what is going on in her life and I will be forever grateful for that. 

She thinks she is old but I know it is just the beginning. I am looking forward to watching the journey.

Happy Birthday, Teddy Bear~!