Tiffany

My sweet Tiffany Jean got married.  She entered my world around 1979 when I was thirteen years old and she was one.  I was not a wild teen, much more a homebody who loved children and loved to earn money.  So I welcomed the new neighbors across the street, the Leggett's -- Bruce, Nancy, Jen (4) and Tiffany.

I remember the day quite well, when Tiff took ill.  She was only 15 months old.  High fever, lethargic, stiff neck.  Spinal meningitis.  Recovery was long.  I remember the day she came home. Tiff had lost her ability to stand and walk and she couldn't hold her head up.  Her body was weak, and no longer as advanced as her age.  She had also permanently lost her hearing.  It changed all our lives.  It changed our relationships.  My life was changed forever.

Tiff was one of my first exposures to being a "mom".  I babysat her long days and nights.  All summer break.  I went on day and weekend trips with the family.  Tiff would cry when I would leave her house to walk home across the street.  Her face smashed against the screen door.    She was my baby too.  I learned sign language right along with her and her family.  I went to ASL conferences with her mom as a teen to the University.  As we grew older, her family trusted me more and more.  She'd begin to take trips with me.  Up north for the weekend, her and Jen.   Around town in the back of Betty Buick.  No seatbelts required, her and Jen would laugh as they flung around the back seat as I took the corners sharply.

I remember the anxiousness when she went off to school.  Visiting Bow Lake and watching her through the one-way glass/mirror and being amazed with her signing progress.  I remember the anxiousness when she moved to Vashon and how would she adjust going to a new school.  I remember the anxiousness of her moving out to her first apartment, visiting her with Nancy and seeing the joy in her as she shared her new place decorated with sunflowers (that matched her first tattoo).

It's amazing to see her grow up.  To change.  To become a women.  To become a mom.   And to remember all the fun things about our experiences when we were younger.

Tiffany will always have a special place in my heart and life.

This past weekend she married James.  A wonderful man.  A wonderful father.  Her soulmate.  It was a masterful event.  Our families joined.  It was a blessed day with perfect weather, a great gathering of family and friends.

And I baked for her (and James) with all my love.