I Can’t Believe my Daughter is 30 Years Old Today
My daughter, Nikki, turns 30 years old today. It’s been 3 whole decades since I gave birth to her.
As a single-Mom, I quickly learned to pick my battles. My simple goal was to raise Nikki to make her own choices in life and to know I love her no matter what.
Today, as a 30th birthday tribute, I’ll share a few Nikki stories and photos 💕
My pre-Eclampsia went into full blown Eclampsia…
It was 3 1/2 weeks until my due-date but it was time to deliver the baby or we both would die.
An emergency C-section was performed and my premature baby girl arrived healthy.
Her skin was yellow due to jaundice caused by a prescription drug I had to take prior to her birth. The jaundice went away after several days.
Nikki was born with black hair. But a few months later, her hair fell out and came back lighter.
The neighbors got a kick out of Nikki…
When she was 3 years old we lived in an apartment complex.
At the apartment, Nikki would go out every Saturday morning and water the dandelions with a tiny watering-can I found at a garage sale.
No one liked the dandelions but the neighbors told me they smiled when they saw Nikki watering and caring for them.
This is one of my favorite photos of Nikki in an Easter outfit (another garage sale find).
She always picked a bouquet of dandelions to give to me… until one day when a big bug came out of the bunch. That was the end of Nikki’s Dandelion Era.
Cookie joined our family…
Nikki was 10 years old when Cookie became part of our happy little family. Cookie was a Toy Poodle that no one wanted - all because he was a runt and a boy. Plot-twist!… he grew to the normal size.
Nikki and Cookie were inseparable from the second she took him into her arms. From that point on, there aren’t many photos that don’t include both of them.
She was older than 10 in this photo but she had a knack for taking creative photos.
Side-Note: Cookie crossed the Rainbow Bridge in February 2020. He was just shy of 14 years old. 😢
Mom-n-Nikki Adventures…
A couple days ago, Nikki and I went on our annual adventure through the Florida Keys.
I shared about our day-trip to Key West in my previous post.
Parting thoughts…
I could write a book filled with stories but I’ll end it here.
A little life lesson from parenting… I thought it was my job to be the teacher and teach my child - but I learned it goes both ways.
Nikki kept me on my toes (but I needed it), we had and still have lots of fun adventures together, and she inspires and motivates me - even when I don’t know I need it.
Nikki left the nest in early 2016 - moving from northwest Illinois to southeast Florida where she lives with her partner, Misael.
She’s grown into a beautiful, independent adult who thinks for herself but still asks for Mom’s input. She has no problem standing up for herself or others, if needed, but some of that might be the feistiness of short girl syndrome - she got the short side in the family gene pool lottery 😅
Raising an independent daughter wasn’t always easy on my end but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
Until next time,
Connie 🌼
Life Right Now
- My Whereabouts: Southeast Florida
- Home Base: An extended-stay hotel
- I'm Here Until: Sometime in March or April
For more about my lifestyle, head over to my About page.
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