For My Only Daughter, On Her Eighteenth Birthday

18 years ago, this little bundle of pink came into the world faster than her mom ever thought possible.  After the quickest 2 hour labor, a movie-worthy car ride to the hospital, and a frantic emergency call to the midwife to come catch, Maggie Rosemary Martin was (illegally) born underwater in the hospital jacuzzi.

She was supposed to be named Margaret (my middle name and my mom and grandma's name) Rose (after our White Rose love story) but when she was born, I had a strong intuition that she would be our only girl and wanted to add Mary for Our Lady to the mix, hence Margaret Rosemary.  I'm so glad God gave me that nudge!

Just feeding my baby

Her 1st American Girl doll

The princess who ruled us all

Full of sugar and spice and everything nice

How I still see you

Maggie was a very easy baby, which was much appreciated since she was born 14 months after our colicky Eamon.  It was always so fun to dress her up, though she would only let me do a pony tail or headband.  She hated braids for some reason and would do anything to not get her hair braided, which we would use to our advantage "eat your vegetables or we might braid your hair"!  After three boys, the sass was strong with this one:

"I do not want to smile!"

Everyone would warn me "If you think this is hard, just wait until she's a teenager!" but the joke's on them because she became the best teenager ever :)  Maggie has always been super independent when it comes to her school work or achieving her goals.  She's at the top of her class and works very hard to stay there, but is so thoughtful and inclusive and encouraging to others:

 

 She requires no reminders or input form me at all, and she always puts forth her best effort - in the classroom, on the court, giving of her time and service.  She loves babies and babysits as often as she can, while also volunteering at the hospital, playing volleyball and working two days a week at the elementary after school program.  Maggie was literally thrown into scooping on the very first day of the Ice Cream Cottage, where as her brothers had all previously worked at an ice cream shop, and she just handled it wonderfully.  Things seem to come so easily to her, but I watch her work ethic and know it's because she's giving 100%.  

We have lots of Maggie stories that we love to remind her of, like when she prayed for "walls" and we finally turned her makeshift bedroom into a new room.

Or the phase she went through where she was constantly banging her "bad toe" and would yell it out for all to hear.

Or how we used to take away her dessert as a consequence for any bad behavior and she went a whole year without dessert.  (Not really, but that's the family legend.)

Or the time a squirrel fell from a tree on to our driveway, and Maggie dropped to her knees right there and prayed for God to heal it.  Grandpa brought the squirrel to "the vet".

Or how she prayed so hard for a sister every time we announced the next baby:

 

We tried, Maggie, we tried.  Yet now admits that she likes being the only princess in the house!

But just because she's a princess, does not mean she's not also a warrior.  Maggie was the little girl who constantly had scrapes on her knees.  The only girl in a family full of brothers who not only kept up but led the pack.  The middle schooler who played basketball so hard that she fouled out of most games.  The high schooler who just finished her last season of volleyball, and was named her league's All Star for the second year in a row, and also her team's MVP:

Maggie has always known she wanted to attend Franciscan University for college, and only applied there and was accepted and no more college drama.  She went out to visit last month with her bestie and is hoping they will attend together.  Oh, here's a story that shows Maggie's goodness...when she was packing up to go visit the college, she had a card in her hand.  I asked her what it was and she said "to leave a thank you note to Andrew's friends who are hosting us".  She's just so innately good and sweet and holy, and people notice those qualities in her.  When she posted her senior photos, a younger member of the volleyball team commented:

Maggie led a retreat team last week where her best friend gave a talk about the beautiful friend that Maggie is.  It was so sweet!  We also wrote her letters, called palanca, to read while she was on retreat and I just wanted to share her dad's letter to her, with permission:  

Maggie,

I don’t want to write this palanca. It means you are a senior and will be leaving us for college soon. I guess I knew when you were born that you would grow up and eventually move away but I never thought the time would go by so quickly. It has been one of the greatest joys of my life to be your father. From the moment I first held you in my arms, I loved you and I have wanted to protect you from all harm. I know that I have made a lot of mistakes along the way but I hope you have always known how much I love you and how proud of you I am.

You have made it so easy for mom and I. I am so impressed with your maturity throughout high school.

During a time when so many teenagers are tempted to make poor decisions, you have made good choices and made good friends. As a parent, we always worry about our kids and pray they will stay close to Jesus and avoid the pitfalls of the world. The fact that you respected us enough to avoid social media, the parties, and many poor decisions that so many of your classmates fell into is a sign of your incredible character! Seriously!

Mom and I are amazed at how good you are! You are an inspiration for us to try and grow in our own holiness. I pray that you never lose this Maggie. You have made our family and our home much more joyful. I have so enjoyed having you in class this year. I love you more than you can possibly know and I will always be there to support you. Stay close to Jesus and the Sacraments.

Love,

Dad

Maggie - I want to echo Dad's words about how much we appreciate that you respected our wishes and avoided social media for so long and never went to the high school parties even though you were invited, even though many of your friends went.  We give you free reign to make your own decisions, especially in your senior year, and you have shown us your maturity again and again.  Last week, when you went to a friend's house to hang out with a group and watch a movie, you asked what time you should be home and we let you pick because we trust you so much, as you have never given us a reason not to.  

We both always hoped and prayed for another girl in the family, but God literally gave us the best one we could ever imagine.  You are a fierce, kind, brilliant, faithful, funny and only slightly sassy young lady.  We all adore you and want to squeeze every last drop of togetherness out before you head to college in the fall.  A house without Maggie will be so different, so let's slow down time and treasure these moments with our Maggie Moo.  We love you!