To My Daughter...On Her Birthday

I looked at the blog posts I wrote on April 24th going back seven years. I wondered if I wrote about my daughter on this particular day.

Turns out, I did.

Today my daughter becomes an adult, as far as the law is concerned, at least. She can vote. She can do other stuff eighteen-year olds do.

Parents often times talk about how fast their children grow--how time somehow got away from them. I remember hearing it. Now I'm saying it. I look at pictures of my baby girl and remember her falling asleep as I rocked her, singing to her and reading her stories, her laugh and smile, the way we did her hair with a single pony tail pointing straight up. She grew up with her mom and a house full of boys. She took gymnastics and later ballroom dance. Now she knits, she loves performing, she reads her favorite novels over and over again.

She's also spending time studying colleges and majors, figuring out not only who she is but what she wants to become. The joy of watching them grow up is in stark contrast to the pain of knowing those times are gone forever. There is opposition in all things, after all. The trick is to enjoy the journey. 

So, here's to you, baby girl. You can no longer be called that, at least in the eyes of the law, but to me some things will never change. I hope you have a wonderful birthday that will carry you throughout the year and for the rest of your life.

Love dad.