Have you ever met a person who just looks timeless? They are wise beyond their age, they are thoughtful, and for some reason it feels like they have been here before. I just described Deanna Leigh, my baby girl, who turned 5 this week. She is petite with high cheek bones and dark hair that she loves to wear in a bun. A necklace or junky watch is a must along with lip gloss and she always knows just what to say. She has a heart of gold. I have a dear friend who calls her Jackie O but sometimes she reminds me of Audrey Hepburn.
I shared that when Delaney was coming, I prayed for her. When Deanna was coming, I prayed she brought more love into the world and honestly, she did. Right before she was born, we moved from Raleigh back to the Philadelphia area. Jarrod started a new job and we bought a house. Life was crazy, and tensions were high most of the time but when she came, it changed everything. It was like a burden was lifted from all of us; it all came into place, if you know what I mean.
She did have some challenges as a baby. Her first challenge was she could not lay flat. If you laid her flat, she would begin to choke so she spent the first 7 months of her life in a swing. Her second challenge was she had Torticollis, when a baby’s head is in a side position naturally. It is believed her head was like that most of my pregnancy, so she spent her first year in physical therapy, retraining her head to sit straight on her body. Lucky for us, we addressed it when she was still very little so there was no need for her to wear a helmet. Her third challenge was that her head was very large. She had this little body with this large head that continued to grow as if she was a human lollipop. Her last challenge in that first year was that her soft spot was not closing at the rate it should have and because her head continued to grow, the doctors were concerned. We had to take her for an MRI at 8 months old. When we brought her in, they made us sign a waiver in case she did not wake up from the medicine that put her under. They had me rock her to sleep before wheeling her away. It was more than scary to say the least.
In the end, she was and is fine. Her head fits her body, it sits straight on her head, she can lie down without choking, and her soft spot closed. She has no memory of all the doctor visits or sleeping in a swing for most of her first year. That year made Jarrod and I kinder people to each other and more compassionate to any parent who has a child with any special need. If we had not already learned the “what is important in life” lesson, it was clearer now.
So let me tell you something really cool about our little Jackie O. She loves to dance; Meghan Trainor is one of her favorite singers. She always wants to help around the house and loves to go to church and listen to what she calls “God Music”. She once told me while we were driving, if you close your eyes and think about it, you can see God. How cool is that!!!
P.S. this song gets her JAZZED!