(Off to rhe Botanical-Gardens to---celebrate...in the ice-storm!)
Happy
Birthday! Catherine Elizabeth!
(February
11, 2019)
To
acknowledge that I loved you the very first-time
I
laid eyes on you would be redundant on my part.
I
“fell” in-Love with you well-before
your birth.
And---suddenly
(from
my perspective)…there
you were!
A
bundle-of-softness wrapped in a yellow-blanket, all-Love!
My
brown-eyed blonde-beauty little-girl!---Wow!...Very-Special!
I
wore out two rocking-chairs, holding you and dreaming-away.
Of
course, they were not new; “no”-money; but, Loving!-warm!
You
had a “cut-down” from an old winter-coat; first snow next-
year
we bundled you up, wrapped bread-bags around your feet to
serve
as boots and took “our little-girl” sled-riding. Always-fun!
And,
I had to get you cow-girl boots,
denim-jeans, western-hat and,
naturally,
a pair of toy six-guns so we could play cowboys; reckon
sure
enough, in those early-days, “Dad” had not grown-up!? Hmm!?
Somebody slammed a hole
in a bedroom door with a Pop-gun barrel
when
Beth, Becky & dad had an
inside-the-house snowball fight! Uh!-Oh!
You
just had to have a “horse”!---So?...We bought: “Little-Lady”! Great!
She
taught you to ride---or you taught her…such a “natural”…at-everything!
Girl!
You could ride-the-wind---if…I could just figure-out How to saddle-it!?
On
Thanksgiving Day, when you were “4”, Mom baked-dinner while you and I
trekked
to the “farm”. I put you on Lady and off you went toward the woods.
About
an hour later---here you came…leading Little-Lady!? She dumped you!
Your
yellow coat had grass stains on the shoulder; you had a broken collar-bone!
Mom
still let us go-off on “adventures” after that---I never did “grow-up”!...Reckon-so!
(Maybe-I
thought about it---once…just (still)…having too much fun being a “kid”!
Sure-enough!)
Little-sister
Becky came along---we are so proud…you-two are “Best-friends”!
Taught
you to drive the pick-up at 12! Got you a .22-rifle! Sure had us a wild-time!
Tennessee!
Colorado! Oregon! Florida! Many-adventures through-the-years!
High-school!
Convertibles! Soft-ball! Fishing! (Hmm!) Pets!---and…Horses!
Hawaii! College! Europe! Fun &
games! Horse-shows! Trail-rides! Law-school!
Then---more treasure-Joy!...our “Z.-Tyler man!” And, “Darling
Lexli-Lu!”
Adding-pleasure: “Little-Professor” Miss Lauren & our-“Pistola”-Anna
Marie!
Couldn’t have prescribed
a-more “Beautiful”-life! Wouldn’t
have dared interfere!
Thank-you! Each-of-you! We
love you! Perfect!-Daughter! -Mother!
-Individual!
Happy Birthday! Beth!---
Love!...Mom &
“Poppa”
