Sarah

She was born on April 21st, 1978 and sweet, loving, tractable Sarah also had her stubborn streak. She was due well before the twins' birthday and she definitely should have been born on their birthday, but she made her appearance three days after their birthday. And the moment she showed her adorable little face, the reason she took so long to make her appearance became apparent. Most babies come out looking at the floor and their little skulls help push their way through the birth canal. Sarah came out sunny side up, looking up at everybody in the delivery room. She wasn't about to miss a thing then and she hasn't missed a thing since.

Sarah was number 6 of 6 and I was lucky because she was such a mommy's girl. If my lap was available, Sarah was in it and I loved it. Maybe that's why we were able to stop having kids - I finally got a lap baby.

From the time she was about three years old, she was wise beyond her years. I remember driving down the street with her when she was about four. A guy backed out of his driveway right in front of me so that I had to slam on the brakes and the box of Fannie May Mint Meltaways that was on the seat, slid to the floor and spilled. I said, "that guy wasn't paying very good attention, was he" and Sarah replied, "I think you both weren't paying enough attention". And that's how she's always been ever practical, realistic, and matter-of-fact.

And she was so sensible. When she was about ten, her older siblings would bribe her to go to the gas station down the street and get treats for them. She was no dummy. If her siblings made it worthwhile for her to go, she'd go. But only then.

She was always a sensitive little girl too. One day I went to the school during lunch and Sarah was in the lunch room crying. I soon found out that while eating lunch, her loose tooth had come out and she'd swallowed it. I took her to the washroom, calmed her, and washed her tears away but to this day, the thing she remembers most is that while we were in the washroom, the little boy who had been sitting next to her at the lunch table, ate her sandwich. That really hurt her feelings.

And she never liked to hurt anyone else's feelings either. One of my associates where I worked thought she was the cutest little girl ever. One day he came out to the car to say hi to her and then said, "can I have a kiss" and puckered up his rather large lips. Sarah looked at him and quietly said, "that's okay" and retreated to the depths of the backseat.

She played volleyball in junior and senior high and she was a senior when the Michigan City Wolves, her team, won the state championship. She was an integral part of that team, a starter, a go-getter, and completely unflappable. She started a mental movement that last week before the big game that helped her team overcome the nerves and intensity that go with a state championship game on live TV. I wish I had even one of the posters that she made but other team members took them home as souvenirs of a magical time.

She went to college 300 miles away and it makes my heart ache to think of what it felt like to leave her there. Alone.

But she graduated from that college where she met the man she would marry. She now lives in Louisville, KY which she loves and has three of the most beautiful children you'd ever want to see. I love that, in each of the kids, you can see a little bit of Sarah from long ago. If I couldn't, I would miss that little girl way too much.