Did You Ever Know A Gal Named Hal??

I never seem to do my thoughts justice when it comes to transferring them from my head to the blank slate that sits before me, be it paper or a computer screen.  But once again I will attempt to convey the emotions and thoughts I experienced today. 

Today when I got home there was a package on my doorstep from my mom, and inside was a book that she sent me, it is titled, "Did You Ever Know a Gal Named Hal?"  It's a book that was written for me about me by my mom for my 18th birthday.  I know, your thinking, but your not 18, so let's go back in history for a moment.  

On my 18th birthday at the time I was born my mom took me outside and we sat on one of the benches in the back yard and that's where I first heard this book she had written for me.  It was a very special moment that we shared, and it was a book that caused some tears and laughter.  Somewhere along the way she noticed a mistake in the book, so after reading it to me she kept it for correction.  

So today, just a few months shy of 5 years later  I got the book ( mom this isn't meant to make you feel bad, but to help convey the even greater importance of the book) back.  I've asked about the book over the years every now and again, and the timing was never right for me to get it back, but today was the lucky day.  It was a wonderful surprise. 

As I sat down to read this book that I'd only read once before, it brought back so many emotions, mostly because it was a reflection on where I was at 18 and all that has happened since.  It was an interesting experience reading it today, because reading what was true when the book was written and thinking about what is true now was some what bittersweet.  At first I felt a little guilt, wanting to hold on to that truth, but then I felt contentment, realizing that change is a part of life and it's okay to change.  The changes that have happened (things as little as my favorite color or the car I am driving) mean that life is moving forward and embracing the present is just as important as remembering the past.  

Reading all the wonderful and funny things that my mom wrote about me, I also realized once again what unconditional lover parents have for their children.  I know that when my mom was writing that book, she wasn't sitting there racking her brain trying to come up with nice things to say about me, they probably just came to her, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't a process of weeding through the negative (though we had just come off my most difficult teenage year for all of us!).

I'm glad I got that book today and reflecting upon it now, I'm a bit glad I had to wait almost 5 years for my second glimpse because it made the book that much more important to me.  I don't know if reading it today would have had such an impact on me if I'd had it at my fingertips for the past 5 years.

Thank you mom for sending me this lovely reminder of who I am and of how you see and value me.   You always go out of your way to make things special and you succeed every time.  I love you.

Here are a few excerpts from the book!!!

"Now potty training that is a whole other story.  This time your strong sense of determination shown through in another way.  How is it that a two-year-old can get her mom to sit with her on the floor for untold minutes "discussing" the value of potty training?"

"You are also known as Hal, Hal-lee, Haolie (white girl in Hawaiian), Hail (as in hail hail the gangs all here", Halibut, Miss Haley, and Haley Rose (mostly reserved for when you're in trouble)."

And one more just to leave you wondering, go ahead you know you'll want to ask:

"Kayaking in lava.......A joke you'll never live down."