Our seventh child is a wild girl.  She has a spirit so free and uninhibited it is amazing this world is able to contain her.  She laughs loud and cries hard.  She loves big and hates with passion. She can be naughty, funny, mean and loving all within the same breath. She is so easy to love.

The other day I (thought) snuck out to put a package in the mail.  It was cold, with about an inch of new snow on the already ice covered drive. I enjoyed the stillness, a moment of quiet that seems to be so rare here on the farm.  I put my package in our over sized mail box, looked around taking a deep breath and turned around to find my wild girl running up the drive way, no coat, NO SHOES. I called out her name in surprise and she quickly turned around, expecting to be scolded.  “Baby, come here, your feet must be so cold!”

“Yes Mama!” and she held her chubby thee year old arms out to me.  I scooped her up, cold arms around my neck, cold cheek against mine and frozen little toes dangling as we hurried into the warm house.

I wrapped her in her little pink blanket and propping her cold toes on the warm bricks of the hearth saying “you silly little girl, out in the snow without shoes!”

She looked at me, her round face flushed pink from the frosty air and just grinned.  This won’t be the last time for my wild child.