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My daughter is getting married!
				Yes, I&rsquo;m a proud and excited mama right now. There&rsquo;s no date set, because she just got engaged, but I&rsquo;m still thrilled about it and looking forward to helping plan a wedding.
				Gentleman that he is, her fianc&#233; Rob called and asked permission a few days before he popped the question. He proposed to her while hiking in Lake Tahoe, using one of their favorite views as a backdrop. Rob brings out the best in Katie and I can see how happy she is. He calls her Katie Girl and she kiddingly refers to him as Robbie Girl. It&rsquo;s a joy to welcome someone like Rob into our family.
				As happy as I am for Katie, she&rsquo;s my youngest and it&rsquo;s tough acknowledging my baby is all grown up. She&rsquo;s been a ray of sunlight in my life and no matter how old she is, she&rsquo;ll always be my little girl. I&rsquo;m the crazy mom who opened a restaurant as an add-on to another full-time business when she went away to college just to avoid empty nest syndrome.
				A few years ago, Katie was offered a work promotion that resulted in a relocation to Sacramento. It broke my heart to see her move across the country, but I knew it was a great opportunity for her.
				It was there that she met and fell in love with Rob. Luckily Katie and I talk on the phone almost every day and I get to share in the wonderful things happening in her life. I learned quickly that I needed to let go and trust in the fact that I raised her to make smart decisions.
				As I reflect on how fortunate I was to watch Katie grow, I remember how she could make me smile without even trying. She used to love to talk with an accent. When you came into our house, she&rsquo;d greet you with a &ldquo;hello mate&rdquo; in her Australian accent.
				I remember when she was 4-years old and we were picking my son Greg up from a karate lesson. She had been begging for karate lessons, so I spoke to the instructor. He told me that at her age she wouldn&rsquo;t have a long enough attention span. She overheard the discussion, and on the way home told me I should &ldquo;call that instructor right now and tell him I do so have a long enough tension span.&rdquo; We still laugh about that conversation.
				I miss the little girl who would ride up and down the sidewalk all day in her pink battery-operated convertible, bury herself in her stuffed animal collection, knock on my neighbors&rsquo; door and wake them at the crack of dawn to ask to play with their cat, and dance around the house singing Disney songs. When my dad would watch her, she&rsquo;d make him play the game Pretty Pretty Princess with her. I&rsquo;d come home from work and she&rsquo;d have him wearing a tiara, jewelry, and sometimes even makeup. He was a very good sport about it.
				As Katie got older she fell in love with the movie Grease. She watched it at least 900 times, so much so that everyone in the house knew every song by heart.
				Katie&rsquo;s antics were not always cute, but they were memorable. When she was in 2nd grade, we moved to Bear Creek. She was still attending parochial school in Pittston. After school, she and her brother Greg would take a van to Magic Years daycare. They referred to it as &ldquo;Tragic Years&rdquo; to make me feel guilty about working. One day Katie got detention for not doing her homework. To make matters worse, she forged my name on the detention slip. Yes, my cute little Katie did that at only seven years old. Luckily one of my friends worked at the school and saw her walking up the street after detention. She asked her where she was going, and Katie told her she was walking home to Bear Creek. That was a potential disaster prevented by a good friend who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
				Katie has grown from a sweet, sassy little girl to a loving, caring adult. Although I&rsquo;ll always miss that little girl, I&rsquo;m still so blessed to have her in my life and look forward to sharing in her future. She&rsquo;s not only my daughter, she&rsquo;s my best friend. Here are my wishes for Katie as she embarks on this exciting new phase in her life:
				&#8226; A future filled with happiness and a love that grows stronger every day.
				&#8226; A continued belief in yourself. Always be as proud of yourself as I am of you. You are a smart, beautiful, thoughtful young woman.
				&#8226; Open your heart to love. Be patient, be grateful, and love big. Remember that just because you don&rsquo;t like someone at the moment, doesn&rsquo;t mean you don&rsquo;t love them.
				&#8226; A life filled with laughter. Life is not always easy. You are sure to experience disappointments and maybe even heartbreaks, we all do. Remember that laughter is the best medicine and there is always a reason to smile.
				&#8226; Never stop chasing your dreams.
				&#8226; Most importantly, always remember the endless love your family has for you.
				Love you, Katie!
				***
				Ruth Corcoran is a professional marketer, former restaurant owner, and community advocate. She resides in Bear Creek. Readers can reach Ruth by emailing ruth@corcoranpr.com.

Life at Full Throttle: Happy engagement wishes for my daughter