Happy, Happy Birthday

Well actually, Madison turned nine last week. However; I have never been one to be on time.

My Dearest Madison,

As I sat down to write about your 8th year, one word kept coming to mind. Blossom. Blossomed. Blossoming. Well, technically those are three words, but you get the idea.

You have blossomed so much over this past year.

When you were in kindergarten, you received poor marks in music class. Not because you could not carry a tune, but because you were to shy to participate in class.

During our Parent-Teacher Conference, your kindergarten teacher said while you were an excellent student, you were shy to the point that she feared if something was wrong, you would be to bashful to let her know. And that is exactly what ended up happening. On the last day of school, you broke your finger during a relay race. But, you did not tell anyone. Instead, you suffered silently until you saw a close friend of the family that happened to be volunteering at school that day.

While you were in First Grade, your baby brother was born 1000 miles away from home under circumstances that were stressful for our entire family. Soon thereafter, I contacted your teacher to see how you were coping with things at school. Your teacher was not even aware, nor was any of your friends at school, that you had just become a big sister.

Fast forward to the 3rd Grade. When Daddy and I arrived at your conference this year, your teacher knew every little detail about your baby brother.

You have blossomed in so many ways….

During your 8th year, you received the Stolion Award.

This past summer, you not only wrote and starred in a play with your friends. But you went door to door selling advance tickets to the play. You then took the proceeds from the ticket sales and bought refreshments to sell during the play, hoping to increase your profit. Quite the business woman already!

Although you have only been in 3rd grade for a couple months, it has been a fantastic year for you so far. You have been honored with a “Raccoon Award” for kindness and responsibility. Your teacher also chose you to receive Student of the Month/Principal’s Luncheon for October. When nominating you, Miss Alexander had this to say about you: “Madison is an ideal role model for her classmates. She is always willing to help a friend or a teacher. She is extremely trustworthy and takes the responsibility to make sure her classmates are doing the right thing. Madison is committed to going above and beyond when completing assignments. Madison has a positive attitude and constant enthusiasm for learning."

You have been elected as mayor of your 3rd grade class. This feat is significant because in order to be considered you had to write and give a speech in front of your whole class.

And perhaps the most telling sign of how you have blossomed this past year. You have been chosen as one of the local winners for the PTA Reflections Program in the category of Dance Choreography. My little girl, who just a couple years ago was too reserved to sing along with her classmates, choreographed and performed a dance in front of her entire class.

To say I am proud of you would be an understatement.

You are compassionate, feisty, imaginative, sensitive, sassy and absolutely spoiled beyond rotten, and you, my dear, are the apple of my eye. You make every day better.

I am honored to call you my daughter. I am not only a lucky mommy, but I am a better person for knowing you. May God continue to watch over and bless you.

All my love,

Mommy