What is a Sparkling Girl?

We all know what sparkling water is. Well, it’s seltzer actually. And we know sparkling wine is champagne, proseco,  or some other nose tickling alcoholic beverage.  The term is reserved for stuff that has a lot of effervescence – or bubbles. But did you ever hear of a sparking girl? And NO it is not one who wears sequins, silly. (that’s me)

Little did I know when I gave birth in 1987 to my daughter Elissa, that I was to be treated to a little girl that “sparkled.” More than one teacher and several parents through the years remarked to me “Elissa just sparkles” and I thought that was a perfect description of her bubbly personality, performing skills, and her outgoing friendliness.

She was entertaining from the get-go and demanded attention at her little performances for me and family. There was never a dull moment and lots of smiles and laughter when Elissa was around. She could command a room from the start.

Later Mrs. Silver, a drama teacher in middle school explained it in a slightly different way as “Elissa has pizzazz.” I loved that description.

One of my closest friends who lives far away and didn’t meet Elissa until she was a little bit over a year old, said to me in an accusing tone, “Why didn’t you tell me?” She was completely swept away by the sparkly girl.

She loved center stage so she was a natural star as a child model for some time as a toddler. She really was “acting” in shoots like this one below at age 2.

At the age of three she was a dancer, still sparkling.

In fact the photographer saw her sparkles when he decided to pose Elissa differently than the rest of her dance group in this next photo with her dance group, not her decision:

Yes, she sticks out in a crowd.

She always went for the gusto but occasionally bit off more than she could chew, but look at her glow as she chooses a pumpkin that was nearly as big as her when she was around 4 years old.

Later, she was a cheerleader, Middle and High School

In High School, she danced at the Superbowl in Houston and was featured in a clip for the millions of viewers till that darn Janet Jackson eclipsed her with a wardrobe malfunction!

An actress who shone as a bright star with the lead and prominent parts in school shows,

She also racked up medals in dancing competitions, then later she was a spirited college student deeply involved in loads of activities.

And she even shone brighter than this reality star when she met him. (Jake from the Bachelor)

She’s now turning 24 and I can only remember how just about everything she took on just reeked of her sparkle-power. I am so lucky to have had millions of smiles, laughs and giggles at her sparkling moments and all of these memories.

As any mom who has a daughter knows, having a daughter is a blessing so precious that is hard to put into words. As my sparkly girl turns 24 and is now a full-fledged shining example of womanhood about to embark on a challenging and exciting career, I can only say that I have been completely and thoroughly “Dazzled” by her since the day she was born. Happy Birthday Elissa – with lots of love from your proud Mom.

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