A Mother's Story by Hillary Welch Kleck
All That Shines
A PEEK INTO MY WORLD
I grew up in a small town in Arkansas where I attended school from first grade through high school graduation with mostly the same kids in my class. I made good grades. I had a couple best friends, and was friends with many others. I had dreams of making it big in life- the car, the house, the money, the family- you know, the kind of life we see flashing in front of us every day on TV and in the magazines. (Note: this was before most of us had Facebook and Twitter!) I thrived on the idea that I could have anything I wanted if I worked hard enough, but falterd on making things happen because in reality, I didn't really know what I ultimately wanted out of life. I was in college living the life of freedom. What was the hurry?
I was 20 years old the day my life changed forever. That day I found out that I was pregnant with Madilyn, but there was no way I could have been prepared for what being her mother meant. I've had my ups and downs and learned a lot along the way. Madilyn's ten years old now, and there's no way I could have predicted life as I now know it. My world morphed from the stereotypical small-town America into a place that I never realized even existed before. My life is better because of Madilyn, and the world is a better place for having her, too.
