My Eldest Daughter

Meet Hannah - I love this picture of the both of us.  She is my eldest daughter. She is tenacious, fun loving, loves fantasy, she is one of the most loyal people I know (other than her father), she has the biggest heart. She is a rare treasure, she loves people for who they are with no strings attached. she loves without questions. She is an animal lover especially cats and horses. She is smart as a whip. She is a straight A student. In college, she was on the Dean's list for all of her 6? years. She graduated last year in May.

When she was about 10 years old - she purchased a horse. For as long as I can remember she had always wished that she could have a horse. Luckily for her, she had a great uncle that raised horses and he gave her a really good deal. We told her that if she could raise half the money needed - we would cover the other half. She began to bake her little heart out. She babysat, she did chores, she cleaned for her grandma. She kicked butt and at the end of just a few months - she had a horse in our little barn. That is how tenacious she is. When she wants something, really wants something - she doesn't let anything stand in her way.

She has had a lot of bumps and bruises in her life. She has faced many friendship challenges, she has faced numerous emotional challenges. I have seen her at her lowest and I have seen her riding the high waves. I am afraid that being the eldest child - she was our learning curve. And just before we had this parenting thing figured out - she went and changed on us. She has helped me to learn to really listen to someone's heart. She helped me as a mom to figure out how to let her be her without expectation of how and who I thought she needed to be. She has been the recipient of her mom trying to figure things out and missing the mark a lot. And for that I'm truly grateful that she still loves me and wants to be with me.

She has grown incredibly as a person in the last couple of years. She has taken life by the horns and admitted where she has failed, she has learned to accept herself for who God created and is learning to love herself.  She challenges me every day - to love without any judgement. She has taught me patience and endurance. She has taught me to not back down from who I am. She is one of my loudest cheerleaders.

In June she will be married 1 year to her gentle, "Panda".  It has been a joy to watch their love mature into commitment and hard work. Together, they have faced many challenges but they are rising to the top.  Her father and I are very proud of both of them.