One for Zeke and Zak on their 17th Birthday

Seventeen years ago today
I got in my little black Honda
And followed my parents Suburban
Speeding along toward Duncanville
Anticipating the arrival of these two

And then they were there
(I will spare them the details)
Both healthy and happy and whole
With twenty tiny fingers and twenty tiny toes
And I could hold both of them at the same time
And they grew so very fast
Smiling and sitting up
And making all sorts of noise
But they still fit, one on each hip
As their little personalities began to show

Zacky Lou, always into something
Impossible to deter, no matter the punishment
ZB, always eager for a snuggle
Stopped from mischief with the slightest frown
Both of them impossibly adorable

It is so easy to picture them like this
Zeke’s sweet ringlet curls
Zak’s expression always a little roguish
So different, but always together
And how they grew!

They are seventeen today, one year from being adults
Alike in some ways: both excellent musicians
Both with their own brand of Blinn humor
Both incredibly smart and good looking
Too big to hold on a hip anymore

But never too big to remind them
That I saw them born
And changed their diapers
That I held them in my arms
And that gives me the right
To big sister hugs, forever

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