Carrie

Twenty-nine years ago my sweet and tender second daughter, Carrie, was born. I had a feeling all along that this one was a girl and I was so excited that she was. I wanted Chandie to have a sister, and I really wanted another daughter.

Carrie was born two weeks early and was tiny! She wasn't just tiny in weight (6lbs 3 oz), but she was really petite. I couldn't find ANY baby clothes to fit her and had to buy premie clothes. Her Christmas dress was made from a doll pattern! She had dark, almost black, hair and quite a bit for my babies, but the most unique thing about her birth is that she was born breach. She was breach the entire pregnancy and I was not happy about the fact that she wouldn't turn, even though I dutifully did all the exercises my doctor gave me to try to get her to turn. It shouldn't surprise me that this stubborn, beautiful young woman began as a stubborn, beautiful baby--determined to be born breach.

We had a named all picked out for her but, after she was born, we tried to call her by the name (Britain Marie) and it just didn't fit. So, for four days we agonized over names. None of them worked. Finally, at midnight one night Dennis said he couldn't sleep until she was named and so we stayed up for a couple of hours going over names. I had suggested Carrie Anne early on and I suggested it again because I loved it so much. This time, Dennis asked how we would spell it and I told him how I liked it (C-A-R-R-I-E) and he said okay. So, this tiny, little dark-haired girl had a name and came home. Three months later, all her dark hair was gone and it was replaced by beautiful blond hair.

She was a happy baby and a happy, but feisty, little girl. She could be quite bossy and one time when she was about 5, she asked why she wasn't born first because she felt she should have been the biggest sister. I told her she was the second biggest sister and that worked for a while. Secretly, I think she always felt she should have been the oldest:)

Carrie always knows what she wants and, even better, how to get it. If there is a bargain out there, she will find it. If there is an event happening, she will know about it, if there is something fun going on, she will be there. Better yet, she will have organized all those things! She is just one of those people. We all call her if we need ideas, advice, directions, or a good deal. And she always delivers!

She has a strong sense of loyalty and you better watch out if you cross her or someone she loves. She wants fairness and justice and she strives hard to maintain those. Once, when Carrie was about 3, some neighbor kids were teasing Chandie and had made her cry. I was on my way outside to get the girls when Carrie tore into the neighbor kids like it was nobody's business! These kids were three years older and quite a bit bigger than Carrie, but that didn't even phase her, she just yelled at them to leave her sister alone and then tore into them like an alley cat. Those kids scattered and never bothered any of the girls again.

All that said, she is probably the most tender of all my kids but she can put out a tough, "I don't care" or "In your face" attitude to cover it. She loved her dollies and would play "house" all the time when she was little.

When Megan died, I worried about all my girls and how this would affect them. I mostly worried about Carrie because she shared a room with Megan and was extremely close to her. I feel that she still feels that closeness keenly and the impact of this still affects her. Not that she dwells on it, it's just there with her.

Carrie has always been on the daring side. I used to always call her my "faster, faster, higher, higher" girl. That is what she always wanted. I always worried that she would be the one who got hurt because she would be in the thick of things. You had to be careful with her because she always took a dare or challenge and tried to out-do anyone. She had a few close and good girlfriends but she mostly hung out with the guys. They were her close friends and the ones she did things with. I think it was that daring side of her that made her like their company. They were always doing things that made her adventurous heart race! She has experienced more than most at her age because she isn't afraid to try something.

Carrie has always been so much like her dad and usually goes to him first for advice or help. That is just fine with me, because I happen to really like her dad! She has so many characteristics of her dad and sometimes it blows me away when I see her reasoning and her life mirror her dad's so closely. They have a really special bond and I like that. But, she doesn't leave me out and there are so many things about her that remind me of myself, especially now that she is married and a mom.

She is such a good mother and wife and it makes me so happy to watch her with her little family and see the wonderful young woman she has grown up to be.

She is still petite and beautiful and I am so glad that she was born 29 years ago and that she is mine! Happy Birthday CeeWee! I love you.