March Forth

This picture was taken 8 years ago today and only a couple of hours after Zeca was born. I love it for many reasons...the look on my face, the fact that I'm wearing pink (probably for the first time since the early 1980's), Zeca sleeping on my chest and Luca smiling adorably. Zeca and Luca were born on the same day, three years apart, so this was the first of many joint birthdays.

I can't believe it has been 8 years especially since I still think of Zeca as my baby, the little one.

But she is not so little anymore.

Zeca's birth was so different than Miguel's. Ironically, he took his time and Zeca did not. Now, she is the tortoise and he is the hare and Luisa and I live life caught somewhere in between the two, telling him to slow down and urging her along.

I remember noticing that she had delicate little ears (unlike her brother) and big lips (like mine). I remember wanting her to sleep in the nursery so that Luisa and I could get a good night's sleep before returning home to Miguel but that she wouldn't have anything to do with that. That first night, she would only sleep when nestled in Luisa's arms.

She has always stayed a bit closer to us than her brother...hanging back and holding on...but with a bravery all her own.

Last night, after celebratory sushi with Luca and her family, I snuggled into bed with Zeca and asked her if she had any hopes for her 8th year. She said, "I don't know what to expect. I guess I just want to have some good times and some challenges."

I know that she'll get what she wants because that is what every year brings for all of us.

A wise person once said: "You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have...the facts of life." Okay...it wasn't so much a wise person as the theme song for a TV show but whatever. Wise words, indeed.

I have no idea what the next year will bring but, if the past 8 years are any indication, there will be tears and a little yelling and some door slamming but also plenty of laughter and music and times wrapped in each others' arms.

And tonight...there will be brownies.That I know for sure.