Happy Birthday, Bree!

I remember well the day my son called and told me about meeting Bree.  He described her in detail and told me how they instantly connected.  He couldn't say enough about how much they shared in common.  I could hear the joy in his voice. 

I remember too the day he proposed and his joy that she accepted.  I was overjoyed just to know that he was happy. 

I remember like it was yesterday the day they exchanged vows.  It was my first meeting of my daughter in law.  I met her and her entire family all in one week. 

They were married on the beach.  We celebrated all week in the beach houses that had been rented for just this occasion.  I couldn't get enough of watching them interact with each other.  It's not easy when you love your one and only son so deeply to let go and share him.  It's not easy to see him look at another woman and know that she is now the one that captures his every attention.  But surprisingly I felt no pangs of jealousy, no anxiety, no feeling of abandonment.

Then I was back when he graduated from North Carolina State Trooper Academy.  Though much time had gone by since I'd last seen them, they drew me in to their circle of love.  Still he locked his attention on her.  She clearly held his love tenderly in her heart.  She understood his childlike wise although he was a war veteran and now a state trooper. 

Now she is patiently nurturing and awaiting the birth of my first grandchild.  I feel that I've never seen anything more beautiful than her.

No, it wasn't hard at all to take the back seat to such a loving and beautiful woman.  It's been easy because there is much joy in watching your child grow into a relationship with a person that seems to have been made just for him and he for her. 

Thank you, Bree, for all the love you have for my son and for me.  Thank you, Son, for bringing to our family such a loving and caring person.  I am so blessed because not only do I have a son, but I have a daughter who will now bring us a grandbaby.

Happy birthday, Bree!