33 1/3

My littlest friend,

I saw a woman the other day at the drugstore who was both physically and mentally handicapped. I immediately started holding back tears. My first thought was how tough her life must be and how unfair it was that some people have such a heavy cross to bear in this life while others float by with relatively trivial problems (only a few gems missing from their tiara). My second thought was how brave and resilient this woman was to navigate a world so rough around the edges with calm and grace and endless polite "thank you"s. But it was my third thought that brings me to this letter to you on your 4 month birthday, the day that you are 33 1/3 percent through your first year of life. The third thing I thought to myself was "thank God my baby is okay".

I cant even imagine the heavy heart I would carry every day if I knew that your future would be an endless struggle with countless impossibilities and daily obstacles. Unfortunately our society is full of ignorant people who only see a cover rather than a whole book. And I cant imagine a life where your childhood will be filled with looks of pity and sarcastic jokes at your expense. As the tears well over thinking of how lucky I am to have you--a healthy, happy, beautiful girl--I remind myself that there are so many lessons I need to teach you. And the one for your fourth month is this.....be kind. Be grateful and compassionate. Be understanding and honorable. Be the kind of person that has a full heart and the patience to get to know the entire book rather than judging the cover.

Its not always easy to be that person. But I hope that your dad and I, and the rest of your family, can help you to build a strength of character that can withstand the peer pressure to come. I hope we can instill in you a confidence that allows you to follow through with what is right, even if its hard or unpopular. I hope you become a friend to a whole variety of people and discover how our differences can make us even more interesting and worthwhile than our similarities.

The point is, I hope you will be good. Not just the kind of child who is well behaved in the grocery store, says excuse me when she burps, and covers her mouth when she coughs, but also the kind of person who carries a pure heart, a friendly smile, and a helping hand. This is my wish for you on your 4 month birthday. A tall order for a little babe, I know, but Im pretty sure you are already learning that your smile can lift up the heaviest of hearts and make the most stressful days a little less gray. So just keep smiling for now, we'll work on the helping hands later.

I love you,

Momma