As you left the house this morning on your way to your first day of high school, my mind played for me a mini slideshow of mental pictures I had stored in there of you. I saw the doctor handing you to me right after you were yanked from my body, a beautiful, gooey, butterball of a baby; the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! I saw your face light up when we brought home Lexie for you to grow up with. In saw the look of terror on your face when I took you on the Beastie for the first (and last) time.
I saw you walk into my hospital room after I had Cate, wearing a huge pink paper crown that read "Big Sister'. I saw you sitting in the solon chair while Darlene did your hair for homecoming, where you were the flower girl (after you had cut 3 holey spots in your hair, the day before you were to perform your royal duties). I saw you, wise beyond your years, carrying on conversations with your grandparents. I saw the sadness in your face when I told you we had to move away from the only place you had ever called home (and again, when we told you the same thing 3 years later). I saw you throw your head back in laughter at something that tickled you (that laugh that is so you; I LOVE that laugh). I saw all this in a matter of seconds, even though it has been almost fifteen years in the making; to me, it seems like it all really happened in a matter of seconds...
I am so in awe of the young lady you have turned into. In an age when young girls feel the need to be much more mature than necessary, you have still kept that same innocence you had as a kindergartener. I admire you for not feeling the need to give into peer pressure and act up. I admire you for always rooting for the underdog. I admire you for your brains and your strength. Most of all I admire you for simply being comfortable in your own skin. At 14 you have mastered something that I still can't fathom at 36. I can't wait to see the greatness that you create as you get older. I hope you never forget how awesome you are and how wonderful you make my life. I love you, Ali. More than you will ever know :)
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