Happy Birthday, Baby Girl

 

Megan Elizabeth Cook is thirty-one years old today.

What a blessing she has been. Thanks to Megan, I learned to have more patience. The capacity to practice and develop my empathy skills happened because of her experiences.

Many of my preconceived ideas about – well just about everything  - went down the drain after she was born.

As the  parent of a bright, energetic, articulate, funny child one either spends a lot of time trying to figure out how to best serve/rear such a creature or one spends time molding the child into what society considers the ‘norm.’ I am glad that in spite of a lot of criticism from other ‘parenting’ experts (like family members, ha ha) Megan and I figured out what would make her happy and a successful human being.

Over the years Megan has focused her energy on animal rescue, animal behavior, people behavior (with animals), and emotionally supporting loved ones. She is fiercely independent, buying her first house at 25 years old and rented rooms so she could afford her mortgage. At 29 she sold the house and moved to Minnesota where she created a life with her partner, Jeremy,  and his two children, Caleb aged eight, and Charlotte aged seven.  

She is Charlotte’s girl scout troop’s cookie mom. She also volunteers for other girl scout support roles. She has coached children’s soccer teams in the recent past. Once when she was feeling a bit out of sorts she went outside and weeded the common area of the HOA she lives in. 

Most of all, Megan is my sweet baby. Hard to believe this child is thirty one years old today.

Megan with Grandma Karnes (5 months old) July 1994

The photo below is of notes written by Charlotte and Caleb recently. The figures in the drawings are of pirates. That’s because they first knew Megan as “Dread” one of the pirates in a game their dad played online.