“Happy Birthday, Princess.” I whispered in Emily’s ear. “It’s time to wake up. Emily's eyes fluttered open. She pushed her wispy brown hair away from her face. She smiled. My little girl was turning five years old, a very important birthday. “Do you want to hear about the day you were born?” I asked. Emily giggled and nodded. I pulled her onto my lap.
“It was early in the morning, when I woke up. I had a tiny baby in my belly and she was poking at me with her feet. ‘I think the baby wants to be born’ I told Daddy.”
"Was that me in your belly?" Emily asked.
"That was you." I said.
"Was Beth there too?" She asked.
I laughed. "No, Beth was still a twinkle in my eye."
I continued the story. “We drove to the hospital and the doctors and nurses got everything ready. Before I knew it, the doctor had popped you out of my belly. And do you know what the first thing you said was?”
Emily shook her head and looked at me with her saucer brown eyes. “No, what did I say?”
This was a momentous event. Emily's debut into the world. The day that would change everything. Surely she must have said something profound.
“You said..........." I paused to give Emily time to think. ""What did I say?" Emily bounced on my lap, eager to hear the rest.
"You said..... ‘WAAAAAAAAAH!’”
Emily tumbled off my lap as she laughed at the tale of her birth.
I didn’t tell Emily how sore and tired I felt that day. I did’t tell her about the stitches the doctor put in my stomach. I did’t tell her that it was hours before I could walk. I did’t tell her those things, because those things were not important.
On the day she was born, I held Emily close to my heart. I stroked her cheek. I kissed her nose. And I whispered “I’ll always love you.” On the day of Emily's fifth birthday, I did the same. Only this time, Emily hugged me back, kissed my cheek and whispered “I’ll always love you too.”
I tucked Emily's hugs and kisses into my heart, a memory to save for tomorrow. After all, those are the things that are most important.
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