Dear Emerson,
Happy 15th Birthday!
This past year we had some fun adventures. We went skiing, went to the beach, and went on a cruise. I love that where you are quite hesitant in most activities, you don't hesitate to take on the bigger hills when it comes to skiing. You really do love it so much! This year you finished middle school and moved on to high school. You have had a wonderful first semester. You adapted quickly to a new schedule, new teachers (with some high expectations!), and some new friends. I love seeing you grow as a person and move closer to adulthood. I thought it would be hard to watch you become more and more of an adult but I have truly loved it! You had a great season of summer swim, breaking some pool records, made big improvements in your high school swim times and you made the regional team which was really exciting. You have had a great start to short course season with a new coach who has helped SO much with fixing lots of little (and big!) things to help you be a faster swimmer. Your coach has pushed you and made you do hard things (200 fly) but you have been able to see that you can do those hard things and I love how proud you are of yourself when you get the "good job" from your coach or you finish a tough race (200 fly!). This semester you took chorus in school and have loved it so much. You have a wonderful teacher and we were so proud of you for auditioning for and making the region choir. I love hearing you sing! This year you also took photography in school and it has been fun seeing your artistic side come out. I have been so impressed with all you've learned and am now designating you the family photographer!
It is hard to wrap my head around the fact that it was 15 years ago that I first held you in my arms. I will never forget the moment that I saw you for the first time and fell head over heels in love with you.
I am so proud of you and the young lady you are growing up to be. You are strong, you are kind, you are funny, you are compassionate, you love big. You have gone through so much in your life. On the really hard days when all I felt was despair and failure I would just tell myself over and over that God had a plan for you and that everything you were going through was part of His perfect plan. I love that we are seeing the way He used those struggles to shape you into the person you are today. And I can look forward and see how those character traits will benefit you in the future. I am so excited to see where life leads you. You are one of the hardest workers I know and will work tirelessly on a task, always doing your very best. I know that comes from the hours and hours of extra time you had to put into school work early on. And I can look to the future and see how that will benefit you in whatever career path you choose. My hope for you is that you always remember what you went through, the pain and tears to overcome the obstacles that just kept getting thrown down in front of you, and that you were able to overcome them and find good and meaning in a tough situation. I hope you remember that God always has a plan even when we can't see it. I hope you remember that everyone struggles, even if we can't see their struggles on the outside and that you show kindness to everyone.
I am so thankful that you are a part of our family. You are our nurturer. The one your siblings go to when they need a band aid or need to vent. However you are quite the germaphobe so you draw the line at nurturing anyone when they're sick...you will shut your door in their face if they have the slightest sniffle! You are our organizer extraordinaire and you always make everything look nicer than it was before. You are the one they all look up to (even if most of them would NEVER admit it!). Nothing makes me happier than to walk in a room and find all 4 of you laying around laughing or talking.
As we look forward to the next year I am excited about all the new adventures that await you. You will start driving this year, you will finish your first year of high school, you will have highs and lows, you will grow as a person, you will learn new things and try new things and I can't wait to be a part of all you do this next year!
I love you baby girl!
Love,
Mom
