Brittany's Start On Life

     Brittany was a child that was always bound and determined.  This was shown all through my pregnancy.  She wanted to see the world, even if it meant being born prematurely.  Brittany was born seven weeks early.  She was just beautiful.  Although she made her appearance early, she was a healthy 7 pounds 9 ounces and a petite 18 inches long!!

     Brittany was a colicky baby who gave us many sleepless nights.  Her sister, Arrika, spent a lot of time pushing Brittany's bassinette around the house just to keep her happy (and quiet!).  Arrika was 6 when Brittany was born, so she had her own little baby doll.  Arrika loved her baby 'sis and would do anything for her.

     Brittany was little but she learned to crawl at 4 months and was walking at 8 months.  She was always trying to climb out of her crib and playpen!!!  What a little stinker!!!  Brittany was a happy baby who loved to giggle and make us laugh too!!!  We loved our little "Piglet".

Gymnastics

To channel Brittany's abundance of energy...we enrolled her in the sport of gymnastics.  Her petite size gave her an advantage and she excelled.  Brittany started at 3 years old and continued until she was 11. 

     Brittany's favorite event was the uneven bars and she was amazing!!  She entered the competitive realm at level Pre-5.  Level Pre-5 consisted of three hour work outs twice a week in addition to private lessons.  She worked so hard learning the routines and would often get frustrated when she would forget parts.  Brittany was a true athlete and was her own worse enemy when she didn't get the score she wanted or when she couldn't master a new skill the first time.  Practice makes perfect and "can't do it" wasn't in the vocabulary.

     I treasure every trophy, medal, and pin that she acquired over her career.  Brittany was planning to return to gymnastics this fall (2004). 

Everything Else To Know About Our Girl

SCHOOL

Brittany was a very intelligent young girl who excelled in academics.  Science was always a  favorite of hers.  She talked about becoming a veternarian because she loved animals.  As she entered the middle school, she discovered that she had a talent for writing...poems and stories that were so heartfelt.  Brittany also had a talent for drawing.  She was always doodling and then learned to draw anime pictures. 

FRIENDS

Brittany was always a very popular girl, right from the start.  She was always surrounded by many friends.  Brittany was a good friend too, she cared so much about the problems of others, and often forgot about her needs. 

Brittany always stood up for the kids that were mistreated by others.  She hated bullies. 

A parent told me a story about Brittany that just shows what a wonderful girl she was....    Their son suffered from many mental health problems and was constantly picked on by others on the bus ride to school.  Well one day, their daughter came home and told her mom that Brittany was the only kid on the bus who would stand up for her brother and make the kids stop harrassing him.  She almost got into a fight because of it.

I have never been so proud of Brittany as this mom told me her story.  They came to Brittany's visitation service to thank Brittany for helping their son, to say goodbye, and to share the story with me.....  I only regret that we had to meet this way.

A SOCIAL BUTTERFLY

Brittany was never in trouble at school except for talking too much!!  She received many detentions for being late to class because she had to chat with her friends!!!  I guess when you have as many friends as she did, the school day did not provide enough time to chat!

Brittany spent hours on the telephone.  I would go through the caller id and every call was for her!!  She would be on-line too, instant messaging her friends!!  Her AOL screen name.... SWTB896.  She was our Sweet B!!  Friends were her life and while many kids stick with their cliques...Brittany had friends in every group at school.  She also showed many of her friends that it didn't matter if the kid was a "Prep" because they were a great person.  Brittany got to know people instead of judging them by their clique.

A GREAT BIG HEART

Brittany also went to a nursing home on a regular basis with her aunt and uncle to visit her uncle's mom.  Brittany would entertain the elderly residence with her jokes, stories, and gymnastics.  She would help with the activities like bingo, bowling, and ice cream socials.  Brittany enjoyed going there, which is unusual for a teenager but Brittany thought "Old people were cool"!!!

The Future- Now Unknown