Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Six Years

*Editor's note:  This post was slated to be published closer to March 29, 2009. Unfortunately due to scheduling constraints there was a delay. I hope this in no way affects your enjoyment. Stay tunned for further postings which are also past their deadline.

Emily Marie. I'm not sure who told you it was ok to grow up. Last time I looked you were still a sweet little toddler, now suddenly you're a sweet girl, not even a little girl anymore. Almost all traces of your babyhood are gone and sometimes I can even catch glimpses of the woman you will become. The chubby cheeks and tummy have faded into long thin legs and a gentle smile. I can't lie and say I don't feel a little sad that my baby is disappearing, but how sad can I be when the girl you have become is so wonderful? There are so many things I love about you. Your sense of humor, especially the glint in your eyes when you are being subtly funny. Your love of learning and of teaching others what you have learned. Your compassionate heart. Your gentleness with your baby brother. Your loyalty to your friends. Your creativity. Your love for your little sister.

I still see little girl wonder in your eyes. I'm glad about that. I hope you can hold on to that wonderment for the rest of your life. You have learned so much this year. How to read, how to write, how to add and subtract, how to speak Spanish. You've learned how to ride the bus and find your way to your classroom. You've learned more complex conflict resolution skills. And you're starting to learn piano. You absolutely love to pass all your new found knowledge on to Katrina.

You still love to play dress-up. You love to draw and color and all kinds of crafts. You still hate to perform in front of people. You don't like change. You prefer to have plenty of warning about activities so you can have time to think through how things will go. When you need to make a decision, you carefully consider all your options. Sometimes you take things a little too seriously.

I love you so much. I hope I can teach you to take life as it comes. To cope with the unexpected. To be flexible. I hope I can help you hold on to your creativity and believe in yourself. I hope I can help you understand how amazing our God is and how much He loves you. I hope you will always trust me, even though I make mistakes all the time. I hope you never doubt my love. The last six years have had their ups and downs, but through it all you have been a gift. I can't wait to see what the years ahead have in store.


1 comment:

  1. You may have been late publishing it, but it was well worth the wait. What a lovely letter to a very lovely young lady, our Miss Emily. Great job on the photo montage! Where has the time gone?

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