Happy Birthday Baby Boogus!

21 years ago today .. the sun was peaking over the Himalaya mountains ..at 6:20 a.m. Michelle came out to greet the dawn. I caught my first glimpse of her as the doctor held her upside down over me .. she was already clearly her Gammie's granddaughter.

We brought Mich home to Canada when she was 3 months old .. it had been 30 degrees above zero when we left Bombay .. it was 30 below when we arrived in Edmonton 24 hours later. So her life continued .. stark contrasts between the great white north and its wealth .. and the extreme poverty of the warmer climates where we worked and lived.
Living between 2 worlds can be confusing .. at two years old .. she was sitting at the table .. and belched loudly & melodiously. We said "Mich .. what do you say?" Her response was "Shabash!!" (the Urdu word for 'well done') .. this was what she had learned from her Pakistani caregiver.
Mich's well developed sense of humor makes our mealtimes rather fun .. once one of us starts giggling .. there is no way to stop. Mich is very often the one to get us going .. and she keeps it up for the entire meal .. taking the ordinary and making it ridiculously entertaining.

It is looking like Mich will be moving to Calgary to continue her education .. it will bring an end to this year of having all three girls with us. I am not liking it so very much .. but .. the job of every mother is to prepare her children to leave home. So I will be up in the night .. missing her .. praying for her .. thankful for the blessing she is to us.

Happy Birthday Mich!! You are a delight and joy!