Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

I arrived home from work yesterday and after getting the boys leashed up, decided to go out the front door rather than the back. When I opened the screen door to go down the steps, I noticed a very large box sitting off to the side. Ado immediately went after it. He has this thing about boxes left on the steps. With his teeth sunk into a corner at the bottom, I read the side of the box. It was a Secret Lab gaming chair. I just figured Angel Baby had ordered one for himself and didn't think anything more about it. After returning from our walk, I jumped online and found a DM from Funny Delightful Son, asking if a large package had arrived. I replied yes and that was the end of the conversation. Again, I just figured Angel Baby had talked to his brother about getting the chair since FDS has one himself.  When Angel Baby arrived home from work, I told him his chair had arrived and was on the front porch. I commented about how heavy the box was and how tough it was to get from the step...

On this date 18 years ago I gave birth to my first child. My life changed that day. All because of a her. For 18 years, I have had the honor of learning exactly what it means to love. She has been my teacher. I joke at times that the child I brought home from the hospital cannot possibly be mine as she is too beautiful, too smart, too compassionate, too everything to truly be mine. I am constantly in awe of her. Those who come to know her see what I see and tell my what a great job I've done raising her. I cannot take the credit. She is who she is and has always been what she is all on her own. I was just the lucky one who was entrusted with her care 18 years ago. Now, at 18, she is readying herself to go it alone after graduating from high school. She will attend college, though we are not sure where yet. She has been accepted into a couple of schools, but having always thought she would spend her first two years at the college where I teach since her tuition is free, I do not hav...