FIRST & 32

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 191

If you’re looking at the title and trying to guess what today’s post is about, you might think it has something to do with the Minnesota Vikings. That’d be a fair guess, but no, this one’s not about them. (Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if they ever found themselves in a scenario where a play went so dreadfully wrong that a "First & 32" actually happened. I can already picture myself rolling on the floor laughing—while simultaneously screaming at J.J. McCarthy.)

Nope, today I’m giving thanks to the Lord for our oldest daughter, Hallie, who is starting her 33rd orbit around the sun. Gosh, how can my kid be 32? She makes me feel old. (Or perhaps that's just because I actually am getting older). In my heart of hearts, I’m still the 32-year-old, and she’s still my little girl.

Yet, the little girl who once ran around the house in circles wearing nothing but a diaper and pigtails—aka my little “thundershorts”—is all grown up. She’s a mama herself (currently pregnant with son number two!), a formidable naval officer, a wonderful wife, and a devout Christian.

It seems like just yesterday she was that tiny toddler demanding everyone’s attention. And then, just like that, she was in high school, then college, then sailing the oceans blue (just like her dad before her), and finally getting hitched and having babies of her own. That little girl in pigtails, our firstborn... how can she be 32?

Today, plain and simple, I’m thankful that the Good Lord blessed Danielle and me with her. She was the first of three beautiful, intelligent, and driven daughters who have grown into remarkable women, strong in their faith. God blessed us with girls who were all genuinely good kids—never once causing Mom and Dad any real trouble (and that in itself, I think, is a monumental gift).

Hallie’s arrival forced us to grow up and learn how to prioritize what’s truly important in life. I think kids tend to do that, don’t they? Ours certainly did. Without Hallie in the picture, I honestly don’t know how our lives would have turned out.

I thank the Lord for her—for her dreams and her tenacity. I thank Him for her faith and her constant desire to go deeper in her beliefs. I thank God for the woman she’s become, and for almost always making Mom and Dad proud. I look at her and take a deep sigh, thinking that by the grace of God, we managed to guide her the right way. But really, that was all the Lord’s doing; we couldn’t have done any of it without Him.

So, our first is 32. The next thing I know, I’ll blink and her son Bishop will be graduating high school. Lord have mercy…

What are you thankful for today?