An Ode To Amy

Ours was not a story of love at first sight. No, ours was a story of fear at first sight, well at least on my behalf. You were an older, mysterious dark beauty, with certain clout in the Campbell Collegiate circle, and I was blonde, bubbly and a cheerleader. We, my friend, could not have been any more different. I came bouncing into the bathroom, cheerleader friends in tow, only to be stopped in my tracks by one intimidating glance by you, and the words, “Are you Brittany Hunter?” A short conversation, which can only be relayed in person, after a few too many glasses of red wine, took place. I left the bathroom with shaking knees, and one giant question for my boyfriend…. “You have a SISTER???”

If I would have only known then, how our relationship would eventually turn out, I would have whispered a few things to our 15 and 17 year old selves.

- Brittany, you will be so thankful for Amy’s influence on her brother for many years to come, for various reasons.. Mainly because she taught him the importance of taking care of a possible ‘unibrow’ situation.
- Amy, go easy on her.. She is well aware that you do a mean impression of “Hi, it’s BaaaRRRiTNEEEEY”.. she thinks you are cool, regardless of the verbal diarrehea that seems to be persistent whenever in your presence.
-There will be a time, in both of your futures, that you will both have one too many glasses of wine together at family functions and find each other hilarious, at the most inopportune times. (“Pappet, Spread the Cheeks“)
-You are so eerily similar in so many ways, that in the future Brittany, you will often tell Mike that Amy should be your sister and not his.
-Regardless of who you ‘think’ you are now, when you both grow up a little bit, you will become the best of friends… who just happen to be related.

So, Happy (almost) Birthday to not only a great nurse (to whom I call incessantly whenever someone in my family is sick.. Thanks, and um, sorry about all the calls lately), a fantastic Momma, but a wonderful friend (and someone who can do my make-up)!

LOVE YA!!!

Your sister from another mother,
Brittany

PS. I only KIND of fear you still……..

A Love Letter To My Daughter

You are perfection. You are dimpled smiles, toothy grins, drooly kisses and belly laughs. I have loved you from the moment I saw you… heck I loved you from the moment I peed on the pregnancy test and Daddy and I danced around the kitchen like two crazy people so utterly happy that you were officially on your way into this world. In the days after you were born, I often referred to you as an addiction. Your warm fuzzy head, nestled perfectly into the curve of my neck, your soft breathing that put us both to sleep many nights in the recliner. In your first few months home from the hospital, you spent every nap and night time in between mommy and daddy, mostly because I knew those days fly by so quickly, and that this time is like fleeting moments whispered so quickly in a mother’s life.

Now here we are, one year has gone by since you made your definite way into this world. I’ll never forget the peaceful night you came into this world, quiet with the snowflakes falling down. It still feels like a dream.. And to look at you standing and playing with your brother, showing him just who is boss, I feel like I haven’t quite woken up yet.

As with any love letter, I will of course, profess my undying love to you, which is evident in the fact that as your mother, I am unequivocally linked to you for the rest of your life. Things I do and say will change and shape who you become in your life. I am stuck somewhere between both wanting you to stay a baby forever, and wanting you to hurry and grow up so I can see you grow into the beautiful human being I am so sure you will become. I named you after some of the most important people in my life because I want to make sure that for the rest of your life, you know who you are and where you came from.

However, I do not take the responsibility of being your mother lightly. So, in honour of your first birthday, there are a few promises that I intend to keep for the rest of my life.

1) I will never, ever tell you that you are fat… or chubby, or plump. But more importantly, I will not give you ‘the look’ after not seeing you in a few weeks that makes you feel fat. I fully understand that, should you at any time in the future feel that your pants are a little tight, my pointing it out will NOT in fact, make you lose weight. It will, however, send you right into the arms of Mr. Cadbury.

2) I’m outgoing, but as I would like to point out, there is a large difference between those in the world that are outgoing people, and those that are obnoxious. That being said, I will come to your games and cheer you on in everything you do, but I will not be THAT mom. We all know her, we have all secretly wanted to throw the ball at her head. Heck, some of us might have even tried.

3) When you tell me that a teacher doesn’t like you, and that’s why you got a C, I won’t believe you.

4) If you come home crying because some little hussy called you a name, or made fun of you, or ousted you from the popular group, I will refrain from calling her parents. And I will also try to refrain from going down to the school and assaulting the aforementioned hussy.

5) I will make unannounced visits downstairs when there is a boy over. No door will ever be closed, and the lights had better be on.

6) I will always think you are the brightest and best, but I have already started practicing the ancient motherly art of never letting you think too highly of yourself.

7) I will give you chores, and ground you, and set a curfew. I’m not above using you as a personal assistant when you are a little older, because it’s God’s gift to mothers for getting up with babies at night.

8) I won’t expect you to be the best at everything, but I will always expect you to be YOUR best.

9) I will leave you in the care of your grandparents whenever they will take you. You won’t possibly understand the importance of this until you are much older, but the very best memories I have with my grandparents are when my parents were nowhere in sight.

10) I will love your daddy, and take multiple vacations without you.

　

So happy first birthday, my baby girl. Thank you for making my already blessed life so much more…..sparkly.

Love,

Mommy