Margaret Mae is 13 today!

I can’t believe my spectacularly wonderful niece Maggie is 13 today.

It feels like just a couple of years ago Rie Rie, Jack and I raced down to St. Joe’s to meet her. Rie Rie was so excited to have a granddaughter, and Jack was thrilled to be meeting his baby sister. I can still picture Rie Rie holding Jack’s little hand as we raced across J Street to the hospital entrance.

Margaret Mae — with her soft blond hair and rosy cheeks. Wrapped in pink. So precious and tiny.

How is she 13 already?

Now, she’s feisty and hilarious. Sarcastic. Super-smart. A tap dancer. A music lover. A baker. Blond, lean, surrounded by a throng of friends. She wears makeup now — and she wears it better than her aunt. Her cellphone is attached to her hip, ready to text at any second.

Maggie’s wittier than her age allows. Her humor is like her father’s — wry, sarcastic, a little mean, a little crass, often said in whispers. And she gets humor that one would think is over her head.

Despite Maggie’s wicked sense of humor and brain-busting intelligence, there is always an innocence. Her stuffed Winnie the Pooh (with “lovey spots”) remains a constant. Her love of dance. Her sensitivity about the loss of her beloved Snappy and Rie Rie. Her sweetness with her young cousins — and their adoration of fun-loving Maggie. Her joy about cupcakes and Johnson’s Candy. And bacon and doughnuts. (And somehow she still weighs about 10 pounds.)

I can’t believe the little girl with the mop of blond curls and the ability to spell rhododendron at 4 years old is now 13.

She is still precious and tiny — with a giant future ahead of her. I can’t wait to see what’s in store.

Happy birthday, Maggie Mae!