What Do You Mean, She's NINE????

January 22, 2004. One of the most memorable days of my life. My sister with a video camera at just the right angle, my husband on my left side, holding my hand, saying “Push, Baby”, my mom on my right side, running her fingers through my hair, saying, “You can do this, Jennay, she’s almost here.” Then, at about 5:20 PM, I hear this little cry. Well, it wasn’t really a little cry, my little ChunkaMunk doesn’t do ANYTHING little. It was a wail. A wail that said, “I am here world and you won’t be the same.” And it hasn’t been. The same….the world, or me.

Where in the world does the time go? I mean, just yesterday, I was changing poopy diapers, wiping her snotty nose, and singing Barney songs. But today, well, today, I’m telling her that she needs to turn down the Taylor Swift CD, explaining why she is still too young to wear makeup to school and telling her to quit saying “that sucks” cause it’s not lady like. And even though she's turning nine, I still have to wipe her nose every now and then.

Nine years old. That’s how old my little ChunkaMunk is today.   I would say that I can’t believe it, but she has reminded me every day for the last three weeks that she is about to be nine and that she is “mostly an adult now.” She’s gone from loving Barney and Veggie Tales to loving iCarly and thinking boys are cute. She’s gone from singing nursery rhymes to singing Taylor Swift songs. She went from barely being able to balance herself to dancing around the room, spinning in circles and not even getting dizzy from it. She’s gone from being afraid to sleep in the dark, to wanting her door shut at night “so she can see the stars on her wall.” She’s gone from wanting me to walk her to her class every day, to wanting me to stay in the car while she is at the bus stop. All at nine years old. The only thing reminding me that she is so young is, 1) she's short....well not really, because she's a head taller than everyone of her classmates, but you get me, right?  2) she still sleeps with a blanky, 3) she still tries to sneak into my bed “to watch tv with you, Mom” only to fall asleep in five minutes with a smile on her face because she knows that she is too big for me to carry and I probably won’t wake her up to go to her own bed and 4) she still thinks I’m the most beautifullest mommy ever in the world.

She’s amazing, this daughter of mine. I know, I know….everyone feels that way about their child, but let me tell you why mine is so great. Well, first, I gave birth to her. That alone makes her ½ awesome. She’s smart. She knows that 2 + 2 = 4. She also knows that if there is one diet coke left in the fridge, not to drink it, because since it’s the last one left, it automatically belongs to Mom. I mean, come on, some adults don’t even think like that, so she must be a genius or something. She’s moody. I have no idea where this comes from. It must be Big Sexy's side of the family. She can go from spewing out her Cheerios from laughter, to crying because Sandy and Spongebob are fighting, to being mad because her brother got the last little bit of Cheezits that SHE was gonna use for snack at school that day. She is a loving child. When I had some pretty major surgery, she was so sweet and attentive. She made sure that I did my breathing thing on a regular basis, she lay in bed with me and watched movies with me, and she brought me all the cheezits that I could stand. She wants to make sure that everything and everyone is okay. And entertaining? Lawrd…that child IS entertainment, from singing, to dancing, to just talking nonstop about everything and nothing. She can go from talking about how weird it is that people’s feet are shaped the way they are to immediately being concerned about that commercial she saw 2 months ago about adopting the starving children in Africa. Give her a microphone and some music and she will put on a show for you like you’ve never seen before.

Everyone says to cherish your children while they are little because they grow up so fast. I know that she is nowhere near grown, but we got to the age of nine at lightning speed. Next thing I know, she will be thirteen and wanting to wear makeup, then sixteen and asking to drive, then thirty and asking to date. I’m not prepared. All I know is that I look at her and realize that since she’s been in my life, there hasn’t been a day that I haven’t laughed (or possibly wanted to pull my hair out).  This child has my heart. She’s had it since the moment she entered this world. She had it before I even knew she was a she. My Mom wished a child on me that was just like me. Well, Ma, you got your wish and I couldn’t be happier, just wish you were here to see it, even though I know that where you are, you have the perfect view of it all.   Happy Birfday, my little ChunkAMunk. I love you from the heart of my bottom and to the sky and back.