Smack You in the Heart Kind of Love by Mary Wroblewski

Of the many birthdays our family celebrates in the very short month of February, I would like to highlight one milestone birthday. Our precious baby girl, Wendy Catherine will be fifty!

Wherever did the time go? It seems like only a blink when she was pushing her six-pound nine-ounce self into this world and changed our lives forever. We thought we knew love before she was born; love for our parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, our love for each other. However, we were unprepared for the “smack you in the heart” kind of love a child brings. This miraculous little creature captured our hearts in ways that transformed us and our world view. I would swear the capacity of our hearts to love left us breathless. We were in awe of the miracle of such perfection placed in our care. We were smitten and we would never be the same.

The instinct to do anything for this little miracle was strong and we followed that instinct well. We promised to shelter our miracle from the ugliness of the world and keep her safe. We did our best to keep her healthy, strong, and teach her the lessons that would equip her with the tools and moral compass to make her own way. We made an abundance of mistakes, and she taught us as many lessons as we taught her. But fifty years later she is still our beautiful baby girl who continues to bring the same “smack you in the heart” kind of love to us. Besides being our daughter, she is a strong, beautiful, resilient woman. She is a dedicated educator at a Christian school, a terrific “retired Air Force spouse”, and an AMAZING boy mom of three.

So, during this month of February when thoughts of love and relationships are swirling around, I am wishing you, “smack you in the heart” kind of love. Happy Valentine’s Day Wayne County and please join me in wishing our baby girl a happy 50th birthday!