Amy's Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful Amy. She is eight years old today and I still can't work out where those years have gone. A time for reminiscing about labour pains and dirty nappies, getting no sleep and feeling as though the world is against you. But considering the last week I have had I would much prefer to write about the wonderful child that I brought into the world at 2.47pm on Monday 3rd January 2000, weighing 7lb 11oz. After coming to terms with the fact that I had actually given birth to a healthy baby girl and not an elephant I sat up to see a huge male nurse sat between my legs with a knitting needle and a rather strange expression. That was when the fun started. It suddenly hit me that this motherhood lark was indeed for real and I had to grow up very fast indeed.

I had lived and done most of the things I had then wanted to do. I had, however, no idea that my life was to take the biggest turn it would ever take as I was given a swathed baby as my reward for the 36 hours of labour that I had since endured. Life as I knew it, became life as I know it now. Wonderful, rewarding and full of love. Unconditional love. More love than I ever dreamt I was capable of giving or receiving.

During the first eighteen months of Amy's life, we moved three times. I tried hard to create a family unit, give her the mum and dad she would one day look up to. But it wasn't meant to be, not with her own father anyway. Fortunately, the farmer was waiting around the corner, offering us that security and a trusting father figure.

I could go on all day about the last eight years. So much has happened. Good, bad, traumatic, ecstatic. But I think I have told you so much since I started blogging that I really don't want to repeat myself. What more is there to say? You all know Amy is my life. She is my world. She is my one and only child and I would do anything for her. So I just want to say that as my daughter celebrates her eighth birthday today, laden with gifts, I celebrate eight years of a life changing experience and I look forward to the many more which are undoubtedly to come and which I will have the pleasure to blog about.