I will always remember the first time I laid eyes on you. Unlike your cousins, you came to us fully formed as a young child. You and I met the day my sister went to pick out a wedding dress to marry your father. When you walked up to me as Sheri introduced you, you had your arms crossed with your hands tucked awkwardly in your armpits. But you gamely took my hand and gave it one hard shake, ducking your head with a shy smile. I knew right then that I wouldn't be able to help it; I would always love you best.
At six years old, you had the widest smile and the thickest honey-brown head of hair I had ever seen. You sat calmly through the dress changes for a while, but it was a long time to wait for a little girl, and within 30 minutes or so, you were posing me various ways in my chair to serve as your recliner. I could see clearly why Sheri called you Monkey. You had a giggle that could win over even the most hard-hearted person. I was so happy that you seemed happy to be there and that you loved your future step-mom---and it was clear that she was excited to be gaining not just a husband, but a daughter as well.
You were adorable at the wedding in your purple dress as your dad's "best girl," joining Dad and Sheri pouring sand into a jar to mark the day. The very best picture of the day was of you and your new cousin Katie, both of you looking off at something out of the camera's view that clearly was really strange, leaning away from it with matching looks of confusion. I still crack up when I see that picture. The only sad part of the day was when you realized you wouldn't be going with them when they left the wedding, and you cried like your heart was broken. I think eventually they took you in the pickup around town a little to calm you and then brought you back to the reception to make their real exit.
Thankfully, it wasn't a sign of things to come; you seem to love being with Dad and Sheri whenever you can. It's hard to go a long time without seeing you since you and your mom live in Texas, but we are all so happy when you get to come to your Oklahoma home for holidays and your six weeks in the summer. I would rather play Uno with you than with just about anyone else in the world, which is good since we play it whenever you're here. You and Katie have both left a few bruises on me, using me as your jungle gym/diving platform when we go to the pool every summer. I love to find little art projects for you since you enjoy them, and helping you with them is part of the fun. I hope as you get older, we can have the same fun with make-up, movies, music, and whatever else you're interested in.
As you've grown, I've seen that little gap-toothed girl turn into a young lady who is beautiful in both spirit and body. I envy you that tremendously thick bob, still the same glowing brown-and-gold as when I met you four years ago. That wide smile will be winning hearts for a long time to come. I know Sheri and I, both pale like Papa Welker, are so jealous of your caramel-colored complexion. And I would almost kill to have your strong, athletic build. But your heart is what I love most. Your first summer here, when you were seven, you said, "You're a good step-aunt. But really you're just my aunt. You're my favorite aunt...in Oklahoma." We both laughed at your joke---I'm probably always going to be your ONLY aunt in Oklahoma---but we always say, "step, but not really." We know we're family, and that's what counts. Your sweet spirit became even more obvious when your little sister was born two years ago. You treated Allie so carefully when she was tiny, and now you will play with her whenever she wants, never hiding out or telling her to leave you alone (although that may change as you both get older; all little sisters are annoying SOMEtimes!). Still shy, you will nevertheless still let us hug and kiss you, as long as we aren't making a big production of it.
Your time with us for this summer is almost over. Today we celebrated your 11th birthday a few days early, since you'll be back at home in Weatherford by your actual birthday. I was thinking today of a poem my aunt gave her adopted daughter, about the difference in a birth child and an adopted child. The last lines read something similar to, "You grew not under my heart, but in it." Ever since you joined our family, in fact, I remember those lines and how you walked right into our hearts and settled happily into your own corner, a place that had always been there waiting for you. I hope you'll always feel at home there, dear Em.
Happy birthday with lots of love from your favorite Oklahoma aunt!
No comments:
Post a Comment