To the one who made me “momma” on her 10th
birthday.
This birthday snuck up on me. Not that I didn’t know your
birthday was the 7th of June, but that you were going to turn 10 so
quickly. Now you are double digits which you are very excited about and I am
excited yet mournful about. You promised me today that no matter how old you get;
you will always be my baby girl. Well, in a way that is both true and untrue. You
see, when I look at you, I don’t just see you as you are today but rather how
you’ve been every day since you’ve graced this earth with your extraordinary presence.
You are 10 but you are also 9, and 6, and 3, and an infant. You are all of
those wonderful memories wrapped up into the beautiful girl standing before me
today. Watching you grow and discover who YOU are is one of the greatest adventures
of my life and I thank God I get to be a part of your story.
Let me tell you some
of the amazing things I love about you: you are smart. I mean SO smart. It truly
amazes me how easily your mind works to figure out the most complex tasks. This
will take you so far in life and I cannot WAIT to see what you will accomplish;
I know it will be grand. You are beautiful. Truly beautiful in that it is
effortless and the fact that you have no idea that is true is part of what
makes you so beautiful but also makes me a little sad. I want you to feel as
beautiful as you are, but I know that the world will throw images and words and
thoughts your way that will make it difficult for you to accept the truth of
your beauty and grace. I promise to work hard to make you believe. I love that you, like me, love the Beatles,
Elvis, and Johnny Cash but can still sing right along to the radio in the car
with Daddy as well. I adore that you love to read so much. This will also take
you far in life. Your thirst for knowledge is unstoppable. You got a love for
computers from your Dad and that is something the two of you will always share
and will ALWAYS have in common no matter what age the two of you are. Your
sense of humor came from me and I love that. We like the same corny jokes and
you laugh just as heartily at my bad jokes as I do at some of your best. Kid
you are amazing. You have the kindest heart of anyone that I know. Honestly.
You love truer and deeper than most people are even capable of. This will be
one of your greatest strengths and one of your greatest weaknesses. Don’t let people
take advantage of your heart. They will try.
Somehow at only ten years old, you are older and wiser than
many adults I know. Your ideas of how to make this world a better place are
impressive to be sure. You say you want to run for president one day and I absolutely
know that if you try, you will succeed. You also want to be an inventor, an
engineer, and an entrepreneur. I have no doubt that you can do anything that is
in your heart or mind to do. You are one of a kind and never afraid to be
exactly who you are. Trust in that and don’t ever let someone try to mold you
into anything but the best version of yourself.
I love you so much Claire. You are my champion for good, my
biggest cheerleader when I’m questioning my ability to be the mom you deserve,
the greatest big sister Matthew could ever hope to have, you are Daddy’s little
girl, and without a doubt the best daughter and friend this Momma could ever
pray for.
I love you Muffin and I just know the 10th year
will be your best so far.
Happy Birthday Baby – Love, Momma.
