Tuesday, June 04, 2013

dear abby

We've turned the pages on the calendar and here we are....another year has passed in a blink and now you are eleven. I joke a lot about squishing you down so you stop growing and just keep you eight or nine or ten forever, but I don't really mean it. I adored the baby years with you just as I am loving the new layers that being eight and nine and ten have brought to our relationship. I am curious and so looking forward to what eleven will bring. I don't expect it to me clear sailing the whole way through. You're just as new to the whole being  tween thing as I am being the Mom of a tween. I promise to do the best I can by you and try not to muck it up too much.

My gosh you are a witty little thing. You have learned well at the knee of your snarky and sarcastic parents. You are quite capable of holding your own around the dinner table or a board game when the trash talk is flying back and forth. You are still a terrific big sister who takes care of and watches out for her little sister.... most of the time. You are by no means immune to the general bickering that goes on between siblings, but it doesn't usually amount to much and at the core a very sweet friendship is growing.

You still dream of being an artist. What form that will take as you get older, I'm not sure, but it is something you remain 100% certain about. You love your entire family in a very big way and you extend the word family to include very dear friends. You are never skimpy with the hugs and I can tell you have a really firm grasp on what the important things in life are. Your Dad wrote you a letter for your birthday, much like the one I'm writing here and I will forever remember your face as you read it. It was easy to see how much it touched you and it will definitely rank up there as one of the top parenting moments I have shared with your Dad.

You love movies and reading (a little bit), Big Bang Theory, Survivor, R5 and One Direction. You like brownies and baking and riding, of course. You were so bummed that your broken thumb put a halt on your lessons this session. You are a great tidier and helper around the house.You cannot wait to start babysitting and seeing your huge love for Baby Elliot is almost more than my heart can take.

Today is not just a great day for you, but also for me. Today is the day I got the greatest gift. A gift I had been hoping and praying for for years. Today is the day you made me a Mom. And how incredibly lucky was I that I got to be YOUR Mom. I love you so much more than words can say.

Happy birthday sweet girl.
Love, Mama.

1 comment:

Betsy Hart said...

Love this letter. So sweet! She is growing to be an amazing young lady.