My Life and Musings: The Story of a Girl

One beautiful December day God saw fit to send us a gift. A sweet little girl. With an upset tummy. Boy, she'll never live that one down!

Tee had colic. She cried a lot. Of course she did. Her tummy hurt. Why??? Who knows? But she persevered and now she has an iron stomach. Well, except in the backseat of a car. She gets carsick.

And so here are a few of my favorite memories.

~ Halloween was always an exciting time for kids. When I was in my senior year of high school, I looked forward to that night. I had been planning on taking my little brother and sister out trick-or-treating so that we could have tons of candy! Jorge wanted to be a rock star. I don't think Tee wanted to be a hobo, but we didn't have a whole lot of choice. LOL! As soon as we walked in the door, I started pulling out all my makeup. Jorge was first since he knew exactly what he wanted to be. Next was Tee. Not sure she really ended up looking like a hobo though. The Cleopatra costume I wore was actually my mom's.

I was Cleopatra and Tee was a Hobo

~ When she was still a little girl, I left home. I was the oldest and the first to leave, you see. I still remember the first time I went home for a visit. I went with mom to pick her up from school. She was so shy. It was like she didn't remember who I was at first. But then she came around.

~ She was my flower girl when Mr. Smith and I got married. The most beautiful flower girl in the world (at least until her daughter was flower girl at Jorge's wedding).

Wedding Rehearsal

Handing out flowers

~ Her first ever time in an airplane she was alone. What a trooper! She came to spend a few weeks with me and Mr. Smith when we lived in Long Beach, California. Many days she had to come with me to work. She drew pictures and hung them in the conference room. We took her to Disneyland, Universal Studios and Knott's Berry Farm. She was very good about completing chores and helping around the house. We had so much fun together. Later mom and Jorge came out and we spent days swimming the pool and walking down to the beach.

We got hair wraps at Knott's Berry Farm

A little beauty in the park

With Minnie Mouse

At Griffith Observatory

Tee's Artwork

Jorge & Tee at Minnie's House

~ A couple of years later she came back to spend a few weeks with us when we lived in Oceanside. By this time she was a full-blown teenager. We wanted to take her to the beach. "I don't like the beach." I took her to Sea World and wanted her to put on some sunscreen. "I never burn." I'll never forget the dirty looks from all the mothers as I paraded her out of the park with a sunburn that was so bad it had blisters. She couldn't wait to go home and spend the summer with her friends. Yep. She was officially a teenager. Although, she did enjoy herself when I took her to Britney Spears' concert.

~ Tee came to spend New Year's with me and ring in 2007! We went to the Empire State Building and looked at the Statue of Liberty. I took her to see Wicked and my wallet got jacked on the way out. So we spent an hour or so at the police station filing a report. LOL! Then we got in an enormous crowd of revellers in a line that snaked around and through Times Square. In the meantime, Mr. Smith was making his way to NYC to pick us up since our train tickets and all my money and credit cards were in my wallet. I'm glad to say I've done it, but I have no desire to ever do it again.

~ Not long after graduating from high school, my little sister got married. Married! I made the sash for her wedding dress. I was so proud of her. So happy that she found happiness.

Our mom at Tee's wedding

Todd 'n' Tee gettin' hitched

Tee with her two flower girls
... our nieces, Victoria and Lauren

Isn't she a beauty? Inside and out ...

I applied mom's makeup :)

Tee and Jorge

Todd and Tee dancing!

~ I remember when she told me that she was pregnant for the first time. I'll admit it. I thought she was too young. I thought wrong. She's such a good mommy. Loving and firm. Caring and sensitive to others' needs.

I was lucky enough to be there when Riley was born. I've never felt closer to Tee. She has always been special to me. My little sister. My best friend. It's interesting how our relationship has evolved into something I could never articulate.

I love you, Tee.

Enjoy these photos I have found of you (since you think there aren't enough ... although you are probably right ... there could never be enough)