10/20/10/20

One morning I woke up and felt some cramping, and this was different from any other sensation I'd ever had.  I was going to have my first baby.  We lived on 4th Avenue, right off of Geary in the Inner Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco.  In the mornings fog came off the beach and then burned away.  

During my 38 hour labor, I walked the aisles of the corner grocery store, the beach at Ocean Beach, sat in the tub, and went to the hospital twice before I was finally admitted.  Finally, at 10.30 pm, Eva was born, and we were blessed with the most beautiful baby I could imagine.  Today we've been graced with her presence for 20 years.  

Here's a list of some of my favorite qualities about her:

1) She's gorgeous, as you can see--

2) She has a very, very kind heart

3) She's amazing with children

4) She's brilliant, but completely modest in her brilliance

5) She's curious about everything

6) She has great insight and wisdom

7) She has complete integrity of thought, spirit, and conscience

8) She's hilarious

9) She plays the string bass

10) She's got awesome chops in the kitchen

I'm sad I don't get to see her every day now, but so happy she's out in the world doing her thing, and so grateful she's my daughter.

Happy, happy birthday Eva, dear!