Every year when I sit down to write your
birthday letter it becomes more and more apparent that with every passing year,
I have less and less to share. It’s funny to think that years ago when I first
started writing these letters I would always have so much to write that I’d
literally have to pick out the highlights, scrolling through hundreds of photos
on my phone to choose my absolute favorites. I guess I never thought so far
ahead to think that one day I’d be sitting here looking back on the last twelve
months with the sad realization that for the most part, I was not part of
it.
I suppose knowing that, and accepting that,
means that when we do get the chance to spend time together those moments are
all the more special……Whether it’s those ten minutes you come home from work
and tell me something good about your day (or something bad –), whether it’s a
snatched conversation as you wolf down your dinner, or just random talks…..
Whether you’re pacing up and down the playroom as telling me about some new
technique you plan for golf or the in between moments when you text or call
from campus, those crazy conversations still mean the world to me. Whether
you’re talking with your sister, or fussing….those moments of you together is
something that will never grow old, even as you two do.
I may not have the hundreds of photos that I usually do of you this year, and I
may not have the luxury of knowing I spent every moment of our time together,
but what I do have are some really special moments I’ll never forget. I have
another year of knowing that you are happy and healthy and at the end of the
day that’s all I could ever ask for. A year with milestones such as high school
graduation and starting college. Even though I was so not prepared …….
So here’s to the last year of your teens,
another twelve months of watching you grow, and another rollercoaster of
emotions as I let you go. Maybe the biggest lesson I’ve learned this year is
that although our time together is less, the moments we do spend together mean
more. Here’s to more of those moments this coming year.
Happy 19th Birthday Ayden!! I love you to the moon always!
