EIGHTEEN TODAY!

TODAY IS ABOUT BAILEY BUGS

It only takes a year or two for them to grow up, but they never seem to grow out of your heart. While I'm excited for the life ahead of her, I'm sad she will be "on her own" in a world whose values are upside down.

I can remember those bright blue eyes, with her fly-away blond hair framing her face, looking up at me in the middle of the night as she asked if she could sleep with me and papa. She was afraid of the dark. My little sweetie was not even talking yet. She just patted the bed and climbed in beside me.

Trying to fix her hair for church was always a challenge, until she actually grew hair. I'm not sure just when it changed from blond to brown and then almost black. Well, I guess I remember the almost black change.

Around the time she started talking good she discovered papa kept jelly beans on his desk and she would go in and sneak them when he wasn't in the office. One day he was working at home and she couldn't get to them so she started asking for them. Only she could only say a few words. Her request came out, "Papa, beans. Papa, beans. We finally figured out what she was asking for and Bailey got her beans and Papa was dubed "Papa Beans"...There was the vacation trip to New Mexico with Papa, Nana, Michael, Aunt Connie and Noni to play in the snow and drink hot chocolate and play games in front of the fire place one winter. I guess Bailey and Michael were probably four and five. If you ask Michael he would probably remember Bailey looking under bathroom stalls talking to the lady next to us while she told her life history and why she was in the mountains. And then walking up and talking to an elderly couple in MacDonald's while they tried to eat their breakfast. He might even remember them sitting in the back seat of the van playing while we sped through the country to our vacation. Bailey was the "robber" and we heard her tell Michael, "This is a stick-up, give me all your money and take off all your clothes". Papa nearly drove off the mountain side.Nana would remember her saying the prayer for lunch and it going like this, "God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food. By His hands we are fed, thank you Lord for Bailey Redd."Then... if you ask Bailey, she would probably remember sitting on a rock in the middle of the frozen stream behind our vacation rental house watching little snow flakes fall. As we were going back to the house we noticed a couple of ravenous dogs on the bank with their tongues hanging out. Nana very lovingly got her two precious grandchildren by the hands and started walking quickly to the house. As I looked over my shoulder and saw them running after us, probably thinking hurry there goes our dinner" Bailey's hand slipped from mine. Michael had run ahead of us and went under the split rail fence and after I got safely behind it, I encouraged Bailey to "Run, Bailey, run". She some how remembers me dropping her and leaving her for the bait. Now I ask you, would a Nana do that?

We went as high up the snow covered mountain as the car could get and got out to walk further up and Bailey and Michael wanted to make snow angles and slide down the slopes on their bottoms. Michael soon decided it wasn't for him while Bailey whized by and came back for more. We nearly lost her one time in a ditch.

We went though T-ball, soccer, Brownies, making gifts for Christmas parties at school, a season in little theater. I know I've forgotten some things. As she grew older there were the normal school banquets and then high school. That one slipped up on me and nearly took me down. At the end of her sophomore year she made the Cavaliers then all of a sudden she was a senior and lo-and-behold graduated at mid-term.

In January of this year she started college at San Jac and today, today...my Bailey Bugs is eighteen years old.

Bailey honey, I know I have forgotten so many things but all I can see is your smile and your beautiful eyes. I miss scratching you back and making it tickle.

God, thank you for "Bailey Redd"

I Love You

p.s. Bailey, I'm sorry I could not edit the pictures and pull the ones I wanted. Papa Beans has retired for the night so we're stuck with Nana's computer skills, or lack there of...