My Dearests

January 29, 2010 | My Jottings

Nothing has impacted my life as much as having children. Those of you with kids know just what I mean. I knew when I was a little girl that I wanted to grow up, get married, and raise a family. But I had no idea how much being a mother would characterize my life. I am married and have a husband who is a daily example to me of what love, mercy, long-suffering, hope, and grace look like. I cannot imagine my life without Michael. He threw his wild and haphazard net all the way out from Northern Minnesota to Southern California in 1981 and caught me, and I have thanked God about six and a half million times for that marvel.

But there’s something about flesh and blood. There’s something about having my own children, that drives every single day. Even though I’m not raising them anymore and they’re all capable adults, there’s hardly an hour in my life that isn’t shaped by thoughts of and dreams for my girls.

God has given me three daughters, and here they are.

This photo was taken in 2000 at Sharon’s wedding, but they all still basically look the same. They might say otherwise, but when you get old like me, four pounds and two slight wrinkles mean nothing, nothing at all. So if any of them leave comments about this photo, pay absolutely no attention to what they say. 🙂

Sara Yvonne is on the left. She would have been named Steven Michael had she been a boy. I was so thrilled she was a girl. She was born at home and is the youngest of our daughters. She is very creative. She has had a knack for interior design since she was a little girl, and I never hesitated to ask her even when she was seven, which way the furniture should be arranged, what art print I should choose and which fabric I should buy to cover the chair. She is a gifted floral designer and her creations are unique, unexpected and beautiful, like she is. Sara is the most devoted auntie to her nieces and nephews, and they all throw themselves at her when she visits. She has a talent for turning chaos into order in almost no time. She lends a hand when others need help. She gives me pedicures, massages my neck and feet, and comes over often to just talk. Every time she leaves I say, “Thank you, Jesus, for blessing me with Sara!”

Sharon Lindsay is pictured in the middle. She would have been named Nathan or Nathaniel had she been a boy. I was so thrilled she was a girl. She was born in an Air Force hospital in northern California, and is my oldest daughter, who made me a mother when I was nineteen years old. She is very creative. She has had the gift of words since she was a year old, when she began speaking and retaining information at an alarming rate. She was reading simple books by the time she was eighteen months old, and conducting extensive telephone polls about the Loch Ness Monster by the time she was thirteen. She is a wife. She is the mother of three wonderful children. She is a high school teacher and a gifted dyer and purveyor of gorgeous yarns. She calls me every day and we laugh about the same things, which no one else thinks are funny. She sends me songs with pertinent lyrics when I am blue. Every time I get off the phone with her I say, “Thank you, Jesus, for blessing me with Sharon!”

Carolyn Beth is on the right. She would have been named Jeffrey Allen had she been a boy. I was so thrilled she was a girl. She was born in an Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and is my second daughter, born twenty months after Sharon. She is very creative. Early on she could play the piano, paint and draw quite well, and write dramatic stories. She was a peaceful child and an avid reader, and could often be found with her nose in a book, deeply engrossed in works like Gone With the Wind even if chaos swirled around her. She is a superb actress who has been in stage productions of Cinderella, The Miracle Worker, Carousel, The Last Five Years, and many others. Carolyn sings beautifully and her acting gift always amazes me. I sit in the audience of her plays and wonder to myself, “Who is that lovely young woman? Oh that’s right – she’s my daughter!” She is a wife. She is the mother of four wonderful children. She is my Personal Assistant, and her fantastic cooking, planning and organizational help keeps me sane. Her very presence heartens and cheers me, and I always feel a little bit better when she’s around. When she goes home I say, “Thank you, Jesus, for blessing me with Carolyn!”

My three daughters. My very heart. My dearests.