Almost every night, after Angie is asleep, I go to her and I lay my face next to hers.  I breathe her in and tell her how much I love her.  I just finished doing exactly this.  I stay there for much longer than she would allow if she were awake.  This child has changed my life and I do not want to forget that as we get busy and life moves forward.  You see, I have already experienced how quickly time passes when you are parent.  The days can be long but the years pass by like the blink of an eye.

Angie is growing and changing right before my eyes.  She is so tuned in to what happens and what is said in her presence.  She is an old soul and her heart understands things most 7 year-olds are far from knowing.  She has experienced pain and challenges unknown to most and she seems to realize her good fortunate to have overcome huge obstacles.  She has experienced a miracle after all.

I wonder sometimes about how much of her journey she remembers.  Some with her brain, probably, and the rest with her heart. She has an amazing aptitude for people.  She just gets them.  If you don't know Angie yet, I hope you will meet her.  Few have met her and not been irreversibly affected.  She will leave her mark and you will be better for it.  She is a puzzle, a wonder, a gift.  She has changed my life.