Chelsea

After years of waiting Sam finally called me with the news, Donna was pregnant!  I had been wanting a niece or nephew since I was old enough to know what one was.

Sam and Donna waited until my patience had grown thin to get married and then waited a couple of years to get pregnant.... what was the wait?  Didn't they know that I needed a little bundle of joy in the family?

So finally, the time had come, I was going to have a baby to play with.  It never occurred to me that Sam and Donna would be the parents, all I knew was I was getting a baby.... FINALLY!

The next few months were filled with anticipation, if she were a girl I would groom her to be Miss America, if it was a boy, I would groom him to be President of the United States.....  I was in a state of euphoria planning how I would impact this child's life.

Finally the day arrived, Sam called early in the morning and said Donna was in labor.  I took the day off to be with family at the hospital.  We were all there mama, daddy, Donna's mama and daddy, Donna's sister we paced the floors of Northeast Georgia Medical Center just waiting.

We waited for hours.  I couldn't believe how long it was taking and I felt for Donna for the labor she must be going through.  Later I found out Donna slept through most of the labor after she received her epidural.

When the moment arrived, Sam came out to tell us, "it's a girl."  A girl!  A girl?

Secretly I had wished for a girl, but when the words came out of his mouth I was a bit worried.... what are we supposed to do with a girl?  We are a family of boys, we don't know anything about girls!

But we had one, a girl, Chelsea Leigh Rumsey, born May 8th, 1990.

I quickly learned that Chelsea was not mine, she belonged to her daddy and her grand-daddy.  If two men could ever be wrapped around the small pudgy fingers of a child they were.  This little girl would just look at them both and they would melt....and they still do to this day.

From day one Chelsea was her own person, she makes her own decisions, she stands strong behind her values and she is unwavering in her opinions.

Chelsea is a mix of soft blond beauty and rough and tumble tomboy.  Today she is a statuesque college student who enjoys being in a sorority but also lets me know with no apologies that she can kick my butt.

I didn't get my Miss America, but what I did get was a sweet, funny niece who values her friends and family.  A young lady who has her head on straight and always stands by what is right, not what is popular.  I'll take that over Miss America any day!

Happy Birthday Chelsea, you make your family proud!