April to me....

Hey guys, it has been  awhile since my last post, so I thought I would take time to focus on the month ahead by talking about what April means to me.  April is the 4th month of the year, and the significance of this number has been part of phone numbers, addresses, softball number, wedding anniversary, daughter/son's sports number, etc. My prediction is that April will also hold some significance for me each year.  Wonder what it will be this year??

 My father's 58th birthday would have been on April 4, and it seems unreal that he won't be here to celebrate it.  As with anything, he wasn't much on celebrating anything or making a fuss about holidays and birthdays. In fact, I remember last year, there was severe weather that prevented me from visiting him on the last birthday he would ever see. It didn't bother me at the time, but I wish I had been more insistent about coming to see him.  The picture on the right is one of the first visits with Ms. Emma when we brought her home from the hospital.  You can see by his expression how proud he was to hold her. 

Emma was born in the 4th month too, and the significance of her being born a Aries has proved to be true.  Emma was given the tenderness of her Mimi's heart, but her personality came from her Grandpa.  Both Aries, they tend to be very independent, confident people, also very STRONG WILLED.  For the most part, this is a good thing.  It is my job as her mom to teach her what to do with that strength and watch her excel at whatever it is that she wants to do.  I dedicated this month completely to my baby girl, because it has been such an incredible feeling to be her mom.  After all, my journey was inspired by being a daughter to an strong willed father, and this post was inspired by having such an extraordinary Emmers.

So, what do I plan on teaching her?  I read this quote from Brian Henson (Jim's son), and it summed it up better than I ever could. 

 I guess I learned everything from my father. There was guidance from him throughout. He taught me to identify a person's talent, nurture that talent, and encourage them to look to themselves for solutions. That's probably what he taught me more than anything - a mind-set, a work ethic. -Brian Henson

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