The more things change, the more they stay the same...

This day in history...
Thursday, June 16th, 1983.

This is what I looked like that morning. 28 years old, massively pregnant and sporting a mullety-shag do. (don't judge me.)

Standing over my beautifully just-finished pink and blue bassinet. (This was back in the pre-historic you-had-to-wait-to-actually-give-birth-to-find-out-your-baby's-gender days.)

At 6:06 that same day, my life was forever changed by the following three words:

"It's a girl!"

I fell irretrievably and profoundly in love with this beautiful creature.

Those lips! Could you stand it? Isn't she just gorgeous?

Amy Jean. Amy means "beloved" and Jean means "God is gracious."

(Or maybe I still harbored great affection for the Monkees and this song, or perhaps I had listened to that new - in 1983 - Michael Jackson song a few too many times on my Sony Walkman and she got her middle name from that, but that's not important right now.)

Either way, the name seemed to fit her perfectly. (And, this is a big plus...it didn't sound weird when pronounced, by her Cuban grandmother. Actually, it comes out sounding more like "Eiimeee," but that's not important right now.)

I pinned an azabáche on her, doused her in Agua de Violetas and brought her home.

I have to admit that even after 26 years, the love affair has not abated.

What's even more fun?