You were everything then, you are everything now
Yesterday was the last day when you were 12. Today is your birthday, and you have turned 13 years old. An Official Teenager !!!
This has been the fastest 13 years of my life. You are my first-born. The child that made me a mom. You are the one that blessed me with my first pregnancy. The one who would never go to sleep unless we held you in our arms and sang, all those baby rhymes, to you for hours on end.
From baby to toddler, from tweens to now you have always been an easy kid for us. You have remained fiercely independent and so much more mature than I ever was at your age. Nobody ever told me that parenting was going to be so tough yet so beautifully rewarding. I feel every emotion that you experience by a ten-fold. Every scrape and bruise, every victory, every heartache. It was exactly like I was told, "having a child is like having your heart beat outside of your body."
You will have only five more years until you are considered an adult. Honor and respect them. These are magical, formative years. You will learn to drive a car, enter into high school, earn your first official taxable dollar, make lots of new friends, possibly fall in love. You will not understand why some people are mean to you. That's okay. It will have nothing to do with you. Look for the positive. Accept change. Sometimes life will be hard, but you will persevere. With each day you will grow and let go of us a little more. You will always need us though, and we will always be here for you.
Be nice to your little sister and include her in your life even when you do not want to do it. She has and will always look up to you as her role model. Do not take life too seriously. Maybe you will get into your dream colleges, maybe you won't! In any case, work hard and be true to yourself. You are the most determined, focused child I have ever known. Have a big heart, forgive easily, and most important always believe in yourself.
I look at you and see myself in so many ways, only you are the better version of me - the version I always wished I was... more confident, more adventurous, less neurotic and so very wise beyond your years.
Happy birthday my sweet, strong girl. I wish you the best birthday yet. I am so very proud of you. Say goodbye to tweens and welcome to your teens!
Mumma
02/23/2022
12:12am
