Our middle daughter, Naomi, is turning 17 today. This will be, in all probability, her last birthday at home, as she grauates this June. I know this is cliche, but it seems like yesterday that she was in the sandbox playing with trucks, much to the chagrin of her older sister who preferred Disney princesses to dump trucks. Now, in the blink of an eye, Naomi has been accepted into two colleges, is captain of her basketball team, drives a car (not a truck), and is, in my unbiased opinion, a beautiful young lady.

Today her basketball team is playing against the Baxter School for the Deaf. After the game the two teams are having a combined birthday party for her, complete with pizza, soda and cake! It seems like her birthdays were always unique. Back in her truck stage, we had a firefighter party, complete with real fire fighters and a firetruck the kids could explore! Twice her birthday was celebrated in Ecuador. On her 12th birthday, she juggled for an audience of Quechua Indians who lived in the Quito city dump.

Last night, she wasn't feeling well. Although she was just tired and sore from a well played game (in which she was once again the high scorer!) she feared she was getting the same flu that benched 1/3 of her team. For the first time in a long time, she let herself become a little vulnerable. I tucked her in, prayed with her, and gave her a good night kiss. She's grown up so fast, but still I will always be her daddy, and I always want to be there for her when she's scared or sad or worried.

But now that she's feeling better, it's time to go play Baxter school, and play hard. Then let's have some pizza! Happy birthday, my girl!