Two

In an ideal world, I would have written a post last Friday when Ella turned two. I had all kinds of grand plans about posting pictures from the day she was born and retelling the story of her super awesome birth and all of that, but this is not a perfect world. It is my unorganized, hectic, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of world, so instead I'll do this.

I was in a professional development workshop on Friday about poetry and the instructor gave us some time to write. I was supposed to write about someone I didn't know very well, but I had Ella B on the brain so I wrote about her. I started thinking about what my life was like before I met her and this is what I came up with.

Happy Birthday Ella B. I wrote you a poem.

Before I knew you

Before I knew you…

There were never rocks in my pockets or stickers on my face

Before I knew you…

I never saw dawn on a Sunday morning, nestled in a heap on the couch

Before I knew you…

No one ever begged to hold my hand

as if it were a dire need

Before I knew you…

I didn’t notice the way the bumblebee almost disappears when he

steps inside a flower to drink

Before I knew you…

I never knew how hard it was to form a word in your mouth for the first time.

You watch my face, your tiny lips following the path of mine

Before I knew you…

I never knew the feeling of failing when it mattered so much

Before I knew you…

I was lucky to feel the wonder of the world,

but I could never have imagined the wonder of you