My beloved chosen daughter celebrates a trip around the sun today, and I get to write her a public love note. Let me tell you about the baby of my heart:
• Sweet Pea is a being of light, but she doesn’t always recognize that. The energy that she radiates, even when she’s struggling with her buoyancy, is of a sweet and ethereal kind.
• Every 20 or so steps she takes, she skips. I don’t think she does it intentionally, either, which makes it all the more endearing.
• When I look at her face, I simultaneously see an adorable little girl and a singularly beautiful woman.
• Sweet Pea has a funny streak a mile wide. She knows how to laugh, and to make me laugh alongside her.
• She’s a wicked thinker. I sometimes feel a little bad about that – like me, she gets wound up about things that she thinks are important to get right that everyone seems to be getting wrong – but I’m confident that her ability to see the world critically is going to be much more a benefit than a hindrance.
• I have NO idea how to shop for her. Her style is eclectic and entirely foreign to me, but she always manages to look cute (even when she’s wearing something that made me say “REALLY?!” when she pulled it out of the rack).
• Sweet Pea loves with all her heart. She has moved right in to all our lives and now makes no distinction between us and her family of origin. I cannot tell you how honored I am that this is true.
• Today is not only her birthday, but is also an important anniversary; we’re marking an entire year without any self-harm of any kind. There are not words to say how proud I am of my daughter for finding her way out of her darkness, and how grateful I am for her continued and ever-present place in our lives.
I love you, Baby Girl. Happy birthday, and many more.






