Girl Power

Since last Friday night I've been busier than usual.  I've been out to eat, to the mall, to Target, watched "Hoarders" with quick switches over to "29 Dresses", cooked a real meal on a weeknight, done tons of laundry, and have watched as various bottles of hair and body products line up in increasing numbers around my tub's edge.

Why all this frivolity, you ask?

My daughter's home from college for the summer.

It's really an event to prepare for.  She's our spunky, give 'em a run for their money middle child.  She's the one who, when she was little and it was summertime, I would send inside because she made so much noise outside I was afraid the neighbors would think something (or someone) was seriously wrong.   She's the one who, when she comes home, can instantly change the climate of our house from almost-empty-nest to constant got-the-music-or-the-tv-on-while-I'm-talking-on-my-phone-in-the-family-room status.

I should not be surprised.  After all, that spirit in her was evident from the very beginning.  This is the girl who came down with spinal meningitis when she was 4 weeks old, and learned to smile as a result of constantly seeing her own reflection in the metal crib rails as she laid there hooked up to wires and tubes and beeping machines.   To her, she was just doing what came naturally - responding to life around her as she grew, and smiling was the next step.

Now, that's spunk.