Fifteen and Feisty

"I am here to live out loud." -Emile Zola

Fifteen years ago, the day after Thanksgiving, at six o'clock in the morning, we dropped our toddler off at my visiting teacher's home and headed off to the hospital. We were living in Washington state. We had no family nearby, and we were about to bring our second child into the world. There was some trepidation. We had learned that we were pregnant at the same time we had learned that I had developed an auto-immune blood disorder sometime after Jessica's birth. 

The initial blood work revealed that my platelet count had dropped and that I was no longer in the safe zone for an epidural. I had only been warned of this possibility a week before, so the only preparation I had made for a natural childbirth was to have Neil give me a priesthood blessing the night before. Ready or not, this baby was going to be delivered, and it was going to be delivered naturally.

Five excruciating hours later, this little bundle of energy came into the world. I can remember holding her in my arms and thinking, "This will be my last child, because I will never ever go through that again. So sad, because I really did want a son eventually." 

Three weeks later, one week before Christmas, we took our toddler and our newborn and moved back to Utah. A storm chased us all the way out of Seattle. I can remember climbing in the backseat and nursing my little Sabrina that frigid winter night as we made our way across the Idaho freeways.

Sabrina came at a time in our lives that was crawling with change. It is no wonder that the child came into the world with spunk. As she rocked comfortably within the womb, her mother was dealing with an unfamiliar illness, the possibility of a lay-off for her husband, the selling of a home and moving into an apartment, the receiving of a new job back in Utah, and moving once again, this time to another state. Sabrina's personality only reflects that crazy time in her parent's lives.

I began to wonder for the first time if this little infant I held in my arms might be overflowing with personality when at three months old, I had a hard time getting Sabrina to eat because she was too busy cooing. This was a mere foreshadowing of the verbal wonder we had just brought into the world. She began speaking at ten months old. The child couldn't walk, but she could talk.

And she could talk! And talk...and talk. She had this little tiny voice, which made it all the cuter as she would walk up to complete strangers and begin to chatter incessantly, large vocabulary and perfect diction flowing from her lips at a mind-boggling rate. There was no stranger danger for this child. I always worried that Sabrina would hop into a car with any adult willing to lend a listening ear.

When my visiting teachers came over, Sabrina would nestle herself comfortably between the two of them and begin to chitchat about all of her favorite stuffed critters. She always felt herself to be on a level playing field conversationally with any adult. And to be quite honest, this feisty little toddler had as much wit as any big person, and often left the big people speechless or chuckling.

Sabrina is our fast talker. If the family is extra hungry at Sunday dinner, we are quick to call on Sabrina to pray. She gets out a remarkable amount of well-thought out words of gratitude and pleas for blessings, and all in an amazing 30 seconds. Most people aren't fluent in "Sabrina" so her siblings often have to translate for her. On more than one occasion she has been encouraged to go into auctioneering or at the very least audition to be that voice that lists 300 side-effects in sixty seconds at the end of the prescription drug commercials. I have come to the conclusion that the thoughts are coming so quickly and so ferociously in the head of this child, that she must talk quickly to get them all out. She says her brain is like a ping-pong ball in a hurricane.

 Her little brother, only 20 months younger than her, had a stuttering problem for a couple of years as a youngster. I attribute it to the fact that his older sister talked so rapidly and so constantly that he was always attempting to start a sentence and never succeeded.

I warn people not to let that blue-eyed blondie with the sweet expression deceive them. Sabrina's tongue can often be as sharp as it is swift. Heaven help her husband. The girl can argue circles around anyone and can spew venom at alarming rates. I will not expound on the vicious email Sabrina sent to her orchestra teacher last year after she had the gall to place Sabrina in the third violin section. The teacher forwarded the email to me, and I switched off between embarrassed guffaws and shocked gasps as I read the scathing paragraph. This was one of those instances where we had to remind Sabrina that that sharp sword Sabrina calls her tongue must be managed. She sent an apology email to her teacher that was as sappy as the first email was venomous. I felt like I was in a scene from Anne of Green Gables.

Over the years, Sabrina's personality has only continued to overflow. The child can put me on the verge of peeing my pants quicker than anyone else.

At fifteen years old, her wit is only quicker. Her tongue just as fast. She now wishes to transfer those vibrant thoughts onto paper as she has begun to write. She has a novel well over 100 pages in process and  received 100% on her first essay and writing portfolio in her honors english class. This is quite a feat, for her teacher expects much and is not easily impressed. This girl is going to do great things, and something tells me it will be through her words, both verbal and written. Language...it is the medium she uses masterfully.

I can only say that this beautiful child who came into the world at a most exciting time continues to keep life exciting. And she keeps me laughing. And I love her for it! There are so many things I love about her. I love how she feels deeply. I love her crazy cat obsession that she reminds me will never go away. I love how comfortable she is in her own skin and how she makes no excuses for who she is. I love her sense of style. I love that she walks around without a stitch of makeup 95% of the time. I love that she is passionate about so many wonderful things. I love how open she is to talking to new people and making new friends. I just love her! Happy Birthday Sabrina!