Born to Fly

My seven-year-old little girl loved this song when she was three. She knew every single word and sang with such expression. I would watch her through the rear view mirror as I drove because if I turned around she would stop singing. That year we traveled by car with my parents and sister to Disney World. She was so excited to be going to see all of the princesses along with Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. The whole trip she wanted to hear Sara "Nevens" and sing Born to Fly.

When we arrived at Disney that smile of hers was from ear-to-ear. She was flapping her arms and kicking her legs. If she could have burst from the car seat she would have done it. She was interested in riding all of the rides except for the boring ones. They all needed to be fast, spinning and actually quite frightening for a mommy trying to keep her child safe from harm. Lucky for me, she wasn't tall enough for Space Mountain or that Rockin' Roller Coaster, but if she had been she would have rode them both. She loved Splash Mountain and hated It's a Small World. It was a wonderful trip and we really hated to come home because there is no place on Earth more fun than Disney.

This was also the year that she started attending school full time. I had worked at home since she was very young, but I wasn't able to get in all of my work with her just going part time. She was very excited about staying all day long at school with her friend Summer. I would take her in the mornings and pick her up around 4:30 after working and walking. Finally, she was excited to see me come pick her up. I guess she needed to be away from me for more than 3 hours to miss me.

When I play "Born To Fly" or hear it my chance, all I can think about are those little gapping teeth smiling back at me. She has got to have the most intoxicating smile I have ever seen. It is big, bright and just looks happy. Sometimes she will give me that little no tooth smile and it just isn't enough. I need to see those teeth.

Now that she is older her teeth aren't gapping anymore. She has her adult teeth now and that has really aged her, but she is still flying. She is funny, outgoing, loves to sing and dance (even when we watch), and is highly intelligent. If I had known before I had her that I would feel so proud of a seven-year-old I wouldn't have believed myself. When I think about all that she has done and all that I know she is going to do some parts make me sad because it is going to fast. The time is flying.