Happy Birthday, Norah!

Dear Norah,

When I was five I had a "boyfriend", I had two left feet, and I had a way with words. When I did something bad, I just had to confess. I know a girl just like that.

When I was five, I learned to read. I learned to tie my shoes. I teased a boy and called him fat; I learned that I should never do that. You are learning things, too. You will remember them. All your life you will remember them.

You tell me your dreams in vivid detail. You throw all your paints on the table and paint, layer after layer, sometimes for hours. You twirl all around the house, humming and singing as you go. You sort your clothes and shoes in little neat piles, in tiny little lines. You chart out your day.

And, I wish that you were not at an age that when you look back you will remember. And I wish that you were still so small that I could hold you in the nook of my hip, and know that you were alright. I worry for you and your soft little heart, your wide little eyes, your open little spirit. I worry for me and my soft Mama heart, as I watch you grow, (growing pains and all.) But, I see in you a girl who is growing clumsily yet beautifully into nothing but herself. And, I see in me, a girl who has been there (growing pains and all) before. Somehow, I know that we'll both be just fine.

Happy 5th Birthday, Norah! I love you so very much!!!