The Best Birthday Present

So last Wednesday, I turned 35. Sigh. Somehow, 35 seems worse than 36 might be. I spent the eve of my birthday lying in bed, trying to summarize all of my "accomplishments" over the last 3 decades or so. And my swiss-cheese-like mind would only allow me to come up with a rather short list. But at the tippetty-top of that list are my children and I'm fairly certain that no matter what the next 35 plus years will bring, the top of that list will never change. At about 6 AM on the morning of my birthday, I felt a little person crawl into bed beside me and rest her head on my pillow. I never fully awoke when Maeve snuggled up to me, but her presence gave me immediate peace about who I was and what my birthday would bring. And about 20 minutes later, as I opened my eyes to the day ahead, I found her staring at me, her face only inches away from my own. She gave me a sweet, warm smile and whispered just enough for my ears, and my ears alone, "I love you, Mom."