Family
TBDTribute to daughter Amy Cornell on her 40th birthday
Last modified on 2011-10-28 19:11:52 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
When you’re a young parent, it’s hard to picture that you yourself will one day be ‘old.’ It’s even harder to imagine relating to your children one day when they’re older than you are today. So, when I was in my 20′s, 30′s and 40′s I never pictured knowing my children when they would be in their 40′s.
Yet here it is- Sept. 4, 2008, 40 years after the birth of my first daughter, Amy. I have a terrible memory that 67 years of living has done nothing to improve. But every time I drive my 1998 red Toyota truck I am reminded of her proudly buying it 10 years ago (while insisting it had nothing to do with having just passed into a new decade of living). Cmon, a brand new pickup…and red!
Amy is intelligent, loving, creative, proactive, self-directed, perceptive, kind, intuitive, and loves growing flowers, vegetables, relationships and pets. I saw her overcome one of her greatest fears, flying, for the love of a man. Eventually he wasn’t willing to commit to her despite her willingness to move 6,500 miles, learn a new language (Dutch) and customs. She earned frequent flyer miles (and gold ‘courage awards’) while building her self-confidence–a quality she needed when it came time to cut her ties to the handsome, pleasant and wandering husband and get on with her life.
She eventually found Steve, the man who could love and commit to her as deeply as she was capable of in return. They’ve married and made a good life for themselves and their two ‘children’ Snickers and Freckles, two big lively puppies whose idea of a doggie treat is the Styrofoam cover to their spa! They’ve also been a wonderful Aunt and Uncle to teenage niece, Sierra Dawn and her 3-year-old sister, Jessie Joy.
Amy has always instinctively known that the ‘best’ path in life often isn’t the ‘easiest’ path. She’s committed to a career change and is currently evaluating several possibilities that will once more take her into uncharted waters. That’s scary for the strongest of us, but we all know she’s up to it…because she’s shown us over and over throughout her 40 years with us.
So, Happy 40th Birthday, Amy! The best really is yet to come for you, Steve, ‘the kids.’
You are the focus of our love today!
Dad & Janine
