Walking the Wall

This year has been the year of photo slideshows starting with my husbands 40th birthday, then Michael’s 18th birthday, and now in a few hours Katie will be turning 16. So I’ve spent the day looking through photographs and watching, all over again, this beautiful progression of a soul. I’ve said before, and will say many times in my life, that there is nothing more terrifying than being a parent–that being said, there is also no greater privilege than to usher a brand new soul into the world and watch it grow. Katie’s soul has shone brighter than sunshine since the day she was born and if I could see her aura I would guess that it is bright yellows and oranges. In almost every single picture of her she has a grin on her face, sometimes so big you could swear her face couldn’t contain it; and her eyes always had a shine to them that makes her glow. My son truly has taught me the value of every moment in life, he has taught me quiet beauty and the strength of gentleness and compassion. My daughter came to me when I was becoming fearful of what life was going to bring around every corner. I remember when I was getting ready to deliver her, I was terrified (with legitimate cause) that she was going to be born sick and I had decided with the irrationality of a woman giving birth that if she would just stay in me, she would be safe. I think I cried the whole time because I just wanted to keep her inside me and then with a bang, she burst into the world and was so big, and loud, and glorious.

She ran when she could have walked, she climbed (chairs, counters, my mini-van at the age of 2) when she could have sat, she would swing so that her toes hit the sky, and to this day she sings and dances as if the world were made of music. She taught me, and continues to teach me, that life is made to be lived fully, to never grow old, to never forget to play, to never forget to sing out loud, to never forget to keep my face to the sun. She loves to read, write, dress up, make insane videos, play the piano, and take Myspace photos; her music styles swings from John Lennon’s Imagine to her current favorite Mirah’s The Garden and everything in between. She can be quiet and pensive, but usually only for short periods of time, she can argue and debate like she could only have learned from me, and then she can bounce off the walls with uncontrolled laughter when in the same space with her longtime friend Nick.

I am so proud of her, she has a strength of character, conviction, loyalty, and empathy that makes her an incredible sister, niece, friend, and daughter; and an inherent sense of compassion that makes her an incredible human being. The truth of the matter is, biased or not biased, the world is a better place because she is in it, and she is one of the two greatest contributions to this world that I will ever make in my lifetime.

Happy 16th Birthday, Katie!

May she be happy.

May she be well.

May she be safe.

May she be at peace.