Happy Birthday Whitney

This story is about Whitney. Everyone should have a Whitney. They keep you on your toes, they keep you accountable to all the stuff you teach them as they grow up, they can put you in your place and they make you laugh like crazy sometimes. With Whitney, you just never know.

As a child, Whitney would come up with the most unusual, funniest observations and stunts of any child I have ever known. I once heard such an awful cry coming from Emily who was in the bedroom playing with Whitney at the time. I ran to see what was wrong and she fell on me crying. Finally, I got out of her what the problem was. At just 2 years old, Whitney had told her sister, "You are adopted!" Good Lord, we have a live one here - were my first thoughts. It took me a few minutes to convince Emily that I was there when she was born, that I was the one that gave birth to her.

Then there was the time that we were having Quail for dinner....We noticed Whitney just looking at hers, not eating of course. Then it all became clear....She hollered out, "OOOOH, I'm not eating this, mine has toenails." This reminds me of the time she laid 3 of her fingers on the kitchen counter, looked up at me and said, "Look, it's E.T."

Another time Whitney came up with a very good analogy of a peanut butter sandwich. She took a bite off each corner of the sandwich, laid it down, looked at it a few minutes, then proclaimed, "Look, it's a square meal." Oh, and did you know that one of the best ways to cool spaghetti is to pour tea on it?

Let's not forget the time she locked me out of the house. I went out the back door for something and turned around to go inside to find Whitney standing at the screen door. She asked, "What would you do if I locked you out of the house?" I told her that I would go to the front door and ring the bell until her daddy let me in and then she would get a spanking. Well, all I can say is that if you are going to make threats, be prepared to follow up on them. Yes, Whitney locked me out of the house and just stood there laughing at me. And of course, all I could do was stand there and laugh too. By the way, ask Cliff how many times he got caught outside in his underwear and had the porch light turned on.

One of the more important pieces of advice I can give you is no matter how much they beg and plead do not lock yourself up in a dark bathroom with that child, look into a mirror and call on any ghost to appear. This will back fire on you every time. I'm telling you don't do it.

There was the time that anyone who passed by our house on Rosemary Ave. knew exactly who lived there because Whitney wrote my name on the front of the house with chalk, big as day. And of course, there was the time we had gone to the mountains with Earl and Lynn and Robert and Shea for our yearly weekend trip. We were all settling down for the night, getting showers, sitting around talking...that kind of thing. Earl had gone to take a shower and came out of the bathroom laughing his head off. He let everyone know that I had written my name on the mirror in the bathroom and when the mirror fogged up he saw it. Yep, you guessed it....Whitney was at it again. This same weekend and probably the same night Earl saw someone in the bedroom getting ready to jump from the top bunk to the bed on the other side of the room. We heard Earl say, "No, Whitney, you can't do that!" Tripp started laughing and said, "She already did!"

Not only is Whitney funny, but she is a very determined young lady. She had wanted a horse from the time she was old enough to know what a horse was. Driving by a field with horses you could see her little nose pressed to the window and hear her saying, "I want a horse." Her dream came true when she was around 13 yrs. old. She got her first horse. She began learning to ride and then decided she wanted to show her horse English style because that was what most of the little girls at the "Barn" were doing. So, she began learning as much as she could by watching the other girls. She would ask questions and practice as much as she could. She never had a formal riding lesson, but somehow made her horse do just what she was supposed to. Whitney started entering classes in English shows and began to win some and by the time she became too old to enter the youth classes anymore had become quite accomplished. In Whitney's last show, she entered 6 classes and won First Place in all 6.

As she grew older, Whitney went from "Sissy" her quarter horse to horses under the hood, high school and a social life. Whitney is at the University of South Carolina right now and determined that one day she is going to be a Pharmacist. She has matured quite a bit since she began pulling her little stunts that began at 2 years old. Still pulling them....she's just a little more clever and mature about them now. And you know the one fear that all parents have....getting that dreaded phone call in the middle of the night..... Well, we got a call last night. Cliff and I were already in bed. I was asleep but heard Cliff jump up out of bed, then I heard my cell phone ringing. Half asleep, I was wondering who in the world would be calling at 12:15 in the morning and on my cell phone at that. Cliff brought the phone to me in bed. Cautiously, I said hello. Then I heard the words......"MAMA, I'M LEGAL!"

Today, March 19th, Whitney turns 21. Happy Birthday, Whitney!

Whitney, Daddy and I love you and are so proud of you. Your determination is going to carry you far. Stick to your goals. We have no doubt that you will get out of life just what you want. Always keep your witty personality because you remember that laughing is one of my favorite things to do. The Lord knew I would need you.

Happy 21st Birthday!