21 years

 I know she's an adult and know 21 years have passed but the day after her 21st birthday leaves me choked up and with tears threatening. 

I'm so proud of my girl. We went through some very very difficult times where I thought we wouldn't recover. Often not sure we would all make it. Yet she's turned into an incredible young lady that I'm very proud of. The demons she's conquered and things she's done to take control of her life sometimes leave me speechless. She's brave, fearless, and oh-so-strong. When she was very young her strong will made me think she'd be a very independent thinker. Then the teen years and I figured I had been wrong. Fast forward and in the last few years that strong willed, independent thinker is back with her own beliefs and no one telling her what to think. That's my girl. 

This is Becca with her first "legal" drink, a watermelon sangria. 

I miss my baby, the little girl I could hold, kiss and cuddle. I miss being able to touch her any time I want and not having her pull away. I miss smothering her little sweetness in kisses. She will always be my baby in my heart, yet it carries a touch of bittersweet.