Dear Charleston,
The day is finally here. You're 5!
It's not 13. Sixteen. Twenty-one.
But 5, it seems so . . . so big!
A birthday of 5 means the end of preschool days. Swimming on your own (almost). Running free in the back yard or riding your bike on your own. Coloring in the lines of your coloring books. Dancing and twirling through out the house and practicing your cartwheel whenever you can! Five means you're still a child, but yet you're so independent.
You put on your own clothes. You get your own drink from the fridge. You like to help in the kitchen, You feel less like my baby and more like my little girl.
Every year, you grow into who you are destined to be. You become more defined. More yourself. More beautifully you. Soon you’ll be going off to school, and creating a life for yourself that is less dependent on me every day. Your world will expand to include new teachers, new friends, and new experiences that won’t include me.
And that’s wonderful!
I envy the fun you’re going to have, the things you’re going to learn, and the people you’re going to meet. To you the world is fresh and new, and something to be amazed by. Learning something new every day comes naturally to you because your heart and mind are so open to the wonders around you.
When you walk into a room and talk to someone new, you bring a smile to their face. Your joy in life brings joy to others. And it pours out to every person you interact with on a daily basis.
You are compassionate. If someone is hurt, you want them to feel better. If someone is sad, you want them to feel happy. And if you don’t know what is wrong with someone, you want to find out. I love your heart for people. I wish we all had a piece of that.
I want you to remember, there will be challenges over the next five years. You will find that not everyone is nice like your family. There will be other kids who will be mean to you and Emersyn and try and tell you things which aren’t true. But I will be here for you both. And so will your dad.
We will not be able to keep you girls from the sadness in the world, and you will make mistakes. Lots. And lots of mistakes, but we will help you learn to cope with it and teach you how important you girls sticking up for each other is. I don’t want to shield you from the sadness and difficulty, but you girls won’t have to face it alone.
Because those experiences have value too. You will learn how to handle difficulties, and become an unstoppable woman. You will handle the mean girls, and become a better person for it. You will have your heart broken, and learn that you deserve better.
We learn more from our mistakes than we do from being right all the time. We become better people when we are faced with those who seek to tear us down. We join a sisterhood of strong, confident, kick-ass woman when we survive our childhoods.
But through all of this, I want you to remember one thing...
You are 5 and you are brave, independent, stubborn, strong-willed, loving, warm, bossy, difficult, easy, cuddly, and tough all in one. You are like me and like your dad, but you are not like me and you are not like your dad. You are perfectly you, and I will love you through it all.
There is nothing you can do, nothing you can say, to make me think otherwise.
So I will be here to listen when you need an ear to bend. I will be here to hold your hand when you need a boost of courage. I will be here to wipe your tears when someone breaks your heart.
In me you will always have a safe place. A soft place to fall. A place where you can be totally, completely yourself, even if yourself is awkward, nerdy, self-conscious, unsure, know-it-all, sometime inappropriate girl who’s still trying to figure out exactly who she is.
But I know you will make me proud. I know you will shine.
This is life at 5. And I wouldn't stop it for the world, but I sure wouldn't mind pausing it.
I love you.
Happy birthday,
Your proud mother
