Wild Child

Megan Colleen, born 18 years ago today, has an assortment of nicknames. Her school chums, some of their parents and some of her teachers refer to her as Mayo. I don't remember how she acquired that particular moniker, nevertheless, it has stuck with her through most of her years at Seton School.

Wild Child is how we - her older sisters and I - refer to her with the greatest affection. With a name like that, one may assume that she is an out-of-control teenager on the brink of certain disaster. She is not. Actually, she is no longer a wild child. The name points to a time in her childhood when she was "difficult" to handle. One might say that her "terrible twos" began at birth and extended well into her preteen years. Granted she had many, many wonderful moments - when she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad, well, she was horrid. The best way to describe my wild child is to think of any adjective and precede it with the word more. She was (is) more affectionate, more faithful, more devoted - but also more difficult, her tantrums were more out-of-control, her bad moods were more dramatic. To save her from unwanted embarrassment, I will forgo detailing any of the challenging events of this time period. Suffice it to say, there were times when I, completely drained, called my mother in tears wondering how I could have failed this beautiful, demanding child. The remarkable thing is that she has turned out to be an amazing young woman of faith and conviction (see earlier post - Dear Mom). Words cannot describe how much I love this kid (and always have). She is truly a ray of light in my life. And today is her birthday! I cannot thank God enough for giving her life and placing her in our lives. He knew (of course He knew) how we would learn to embrace each day, good or bad, and grow to love Him more in loving her.

Happy Birthday, my wild child! I love you!