Senior Moments

Kelly enjoying her chocolate birthday cake. Montreat, NC, January 1, 1973.

The beautiful girl in the picture above is my daughter Kelly celebrating her first birthday.

My parents were always very efficient — they raised their own babysitters.  I was ten and my brother was eight when my sister was born.  So I clearly remember my parents talking about wanting two boys and two girls.  But it didn’t work out that way — my sister was followed by another boy.

Fast forward a few years — my parents were looking forward to having a granddaughter to spoil.  My brother got married before I did and had four boys.  My first child was a boy.

But then, on January 1, 1972, Kelly Elizabeth Adams arrived in the world.  She came as a surprise to just about everyone — her mother and I didn’t have any girl’s names picked out.  Kelly made quite an entrance into the world — she was the first baby of the new year in Wabash County, Indiana.  Kelly also showed that she has a mind of her own — she was supposed to be a 1971 tax deduction!

So in the midst of New Year celebrations, I would like to wish my favorite daughter a very happy birthday.  She started recycling birthdays a few years ago, so I can’t tell you how old she is.  But I can tell you that she still likes chocolate.  And by the way, she’s my parent’s only granddaughter.