In a blink, ten years have elapsed, and Ella turned 10 years old on Wednesday. Excitedly the night before, Jason and I assembled a ballon arch outside her door as she slept. I wrapped in birthday balloon paper several new books, some trendy new posters, and set out a rather large squishmallow to await her in the morning. I slept rather spotty (a story for another day) in great anticipation of her reaction.

Wednesday morning I snuck into Ella’s room and whispered good morning while filming. I asked her what day it was. She snarkily responded calling me captain obvious. On a side note I am not prepared for the daughters’ teenage years fast approaching. She loved the surprise, the balloons, and the presents. We speedily prepared for the morning, not forgetting the Rice Krispie treats for her classmates. Hazel was a sweet little sister, hugging Ella and wishing her a happy birthday. She was genuinely elated to celebrate Ella that morning as she sang and kissed her lovingly.

Fast forward through the day, I picked her up from school. We went down to the local gas station for some candy and a Icee. The lady at the counter paid for the girls lollipops and we thanked her for being so kind on Ella’s special day. Next, they requested Chick-Fil-A, and off we went for an early dinner. Ella had football practice later that night. Jason took her to the fields, while I in a fury tore down all the Americana decorations and replaced them with Fall. It is a bit early for Fall I am aware of that, but I simply couldn’t resist. After practice we sang happy birthday, and had a Oreo ice cream cake with some of our local friends.

Aside from the busy day, I slowed down enough to reflect on the day now, a few days later, and on the morn of her birthday party…at the base pool. I have tried to raise her and her sister well. It seems the past ten years have passed in a split second. Jason and I watched old videos of young sweet Ella together as we reflected on how much of a beautiful young lady she has become. Admittedly I have made mistakes along the way when it comes to parenting. There is no perfect formula for raising a child. I am grateful for our sweet darling girl who has filled our lives with joy. Once there was a time where I was so hopeless that I could never dream of a life where I would have a family, a child that loved me unconditionally. This life I have with them is more than I ever could’ve imagined, and I wouldn’t have spent the past ten years any differently.

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