Behold this woman named Mel ...

Sometimes you have to be apart from people you love,

but that doesn't make you love them any less.

Sometimes you love them more.

Nicholas Sparks, The Last Song

Melanie, on the surface, is a gentle and polite young woman.  She has long curling blond hair and a delicate face graced with simplistic beauty.  It is in her gentle eyes that I first began to sense that there was much more under the first impressions.

Women are complex creatures, and Mel is definitely multifaceted.  Raised on a farm in Ohio, she attended college in California, and did social work in Chicago.  She has a deep reverence for seniors that is equally bestowed upon animals.

One of her many gifts is working with Mother Nature.  She creates exquisite floral arrangements that are uniquely designed as well as displayed.  She has ten green thumbs that make quick work out of any yard or garden using color, dimension, and a natural grace to the requested task.  She has an inner sense that connects people with their own style and space.

In relationship with Andy, her husband, Melanie is tender, loving, and kind appropriately tempered with humor and strong will.  In friendship, Mel is giving, undemanding, thoughtful and supportive.  She is an excellent natural cook being very health conscious with grains and veggies. She is a 'sister of the heart' and someone who could never be replaced.

Before  imagining her as some piece of fluff or delicate flower, allow me to bring balance to her creative feminine side.  Dear sweet Mel can drive a tractor, tinker with engines, and address electrical wiring.  She has a strong physical strength residing within her slim built frame. 

This last January on the 20th (I'll check that date with Andy),

I had the priviledge of witnessing the birth of their daughter, Juniper Rose (yes, named after my daughter).  Mel's labor persisted all through one day and half way through the night.  The strength of her determination and physical endurance indeed were remarkable.  Although I have given birth to the total of four, watching the birth of this beautiful and healthy babe moved me beyond all imagination. 

As a mother, Melanie is captivated by the miracle of her little child.  She is open to learning, overcomes the imperfections associated with motherhood, and blankets this child in love.  She is a Mama Bear to this baby cub, and I sure wouldn't want to mess with her!

Without being irreverent, I could almost visualize this young woman as a Madonna.  Like some women have been categorized in history,  Melanie presents as a gentle spirit of this world and of that which hovers beyond.  She is a special blend of sweetness and the salt of the earth.  I honor her own birth and celebrate her life as distance has made me love her more.