Sunday, August 13, 2006

Starflower is seven


My beautiful daughter turned seven years old today. She came into the world the way she is; headstrong and determined. Labor was only 4 1/2 hours from the first contraction; patience has never been one of her virtues.

In her early months we nicknamed her "Sirena", which rhymes with her real first name. We got a babysitter once for a couple hours out, and the sitter ended up calling her mom to come over out of desperation. Later on I had to scramble to find daycare, only to have the provider call me after 2 hours saying "Come get your children. Your daughter won't stop crying and she is disrupting our routine". I should have told that nanny from hell where to go. My daughter knows a bad situation when she sees one.

Looking back, Starflower's early years were anything but stable. By her second birthday, we had moved into the fourth place she had lived in. We celebrated her third on a beach in northern California. By her fourth, however, we were here to stay. But as a result, she is remarkably accepting, adaptable, and thankful for every little thing. She is a multi-award winning student in school, not to brag or anything but it just goes to show how living on the edge builds character.

Did I mention she can practially belch her ABC's? Her favorite movies are "Raising Arizona" and "The Big Lebowski". Such a little lady I'm raising.

Her present was a horse riding outfit: shirt, jeans, and riding boots, SIZE 6 1/2. That's ladies, not girls! She towers over her best friends. But she's not too big to sit on my lap for a cuddle.

So happy birthday Starflower, my only daughter. I ain't a perfect mom, far from it, and I don't deserve such an angel as you. Keep on being yourself!

8 comments:

Jim said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAUTIFUL STARFLOWER!

...and Deb, you are a very good mom!

PS

I'm so glad you found 'Little Bird Of Heaven', I was thinking of you when I sent that stuff, and 'Higher Rock'is also a great song.

I have a bit of a crush on Martha Scanlan who wrote both of those songs, and 'Hallelulah' too. She also signed the back of my old Gibson a couple of years ago at the Strawberry Music Festival just outside of Yosemite. Arlo Guthrie signed it too, at the Millpond Festival, but I don't seem to have a crush on him.

;~)

Madcap said...

Hee Haw! Go get' em, Starflower! Happy Birthday!

It's kind of staggering how they grow, isn't it? She's a lovely, confident looking girl. Congratulations to both of you.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

What a joyful smile! Happy birthday to your little girl.

Dan Trabue said...

You mean Starflower ISN'T her real name!? Awww...

Maybe she'll adopt it, anyway.

Have you ever read Stargirl? It's about a girl who just chooses a new name whenever she thinks right, according to what seems to fit. I like that notion.

Happy Birthday!

R.Powers said...

Happy Birthday SweetPea!

Deb said...

Thanks for all the good wishes!
She and Calvin had a horse riding lesson today, and by a twist of fate we all got into the act, even I was riding a horse for a while, and a good time was had by all.

Pam in Tucson said...

Happy belated birthday to Starflower, the girl with the wonderful smile! And cheers to her great mom and dad, too.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Starflower! If the cowgirl thing doesn't work out there is always the WNBA... ;)