Oh to be a kid again!

Oh to be a kid again and be so excited about being one year older!  Aly cannot stop talking about her birthday being tomorrow (11th).  She has said, several times today, "when I wake up tomorrow I'm going to be 11!  This is also a special birthday for MANY reasons.  It is her golden birthday as she will be 11 on the 11th.  A couple of weeks ago we were talking about what she wanted for her birthday and what she wanted to do.  At some point during that conversation she said, "this is the perfect year for me to have my golden birthday because I am cancer free!"  She is just an amazing girl.  She already seems so much older than 11 and her life experiences, this past year, have contributed even more to that.  I don't want to remember what it was like just one year ago.  The year has flown by, yet seemed to stand still all at the same time.  I often wonder how much Aly thinks about where she was one year ago.  I'm afraid to bring up the subject as I get sad just thinking about it myself.  She was stuck in the hospital.  Thinking it would only be 5 days and she'd be out before her birthday.  Five days turned into 15.  Not only did she have to celebrate her birthday in the hospital, she ended up with Influenza B and by the end of her stay her hair was falling out from the chemo treatment.  We are so very thankful, everyday, that those days are in the past.  Hopefully they will stay in the past forever!
I'd say this is a golden birthday!  She deserves to have a golden day and so much more.  I thought the golden 11 balloons were a fitting start.  I loved her happy face when Kevin brought them home with him after work.  She is happy.  I hope she has a happy day tomorrow.