Family
“School may be finished, but I hope you never stop being curious. Keep asking questions, reading books and wondering how things work.”
“There is a box I kept with every drawing you ever gave me in it. Your mother thinks I kept that box for you. I did not keep it for you.”
“Believe in yourself, and remember you only fail when you stop trying. Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.”
“Someday when the pages of my life end, I know you'll be one of the most beautiful chapters. I hope you believe in yourself as much as I believe in you. My heart walks with you and holds you even when my arms cannot.”
“No matter how old you get, you will always be my kid. And I will always be the first one in line to cheer for you.”
“I was hard on you about the grades and I thought I was doing you a favor. You turned out clever in ways nothing at school ever measured, and I was wrong.”
“Your kindness at work is a gift that does not need any wrapping. You give it every shift, and it means more to people than you will ever know.”
“I am far enough down the family tree from you that none of this is required of me. I have been paying attention anyway, from a polite distance, the whole time.”
“You did most of it while nobody was watching and nobody was saying thanks. I was far too young to notice then. I have had years to work it out since.”
“We spent a decade driving each other completely up the wall over nothing. And none of it left a mark, which is the part I find myself thinking about.”
“Your parents have to do the rules and the worrying and all of the hard talks. I get the kitchen table and the long afternoons and none of the lecturing.”
“You have opinions I did not give you and you argue them better than I would. That was always the point, though nobody warns you how odd it feels to watch.”
“Mostly because you're too heavy now and my back can't take it! Stand tall, even if you fall. When life tries to knock you down, this old lion will always have your back. You shine like the brightest star, kiddo.”
“I used to slip little notes into your lunchbox when you were in school. You are a little old for that now, so consider this card the grown up version.”
“There is nothing left for you to prove to me and there never was. I was already proud a long while before you achieved a single thing on the list.”
“You apologized once for being difficult when you were younger. I did not know what you meant. I had already forgotten all of it, which is not the same as forgiving you.”
“There is nothing special about today. No birthday, no holiday and no big news. I just wanted you to have something that says how much you mean to me.”
“When they pinned you today, I had to look at the ceiling for a minute. All I could see was the kid who patched up every scraped knee on our street.”
“The rules at home and the rules at your house were never remotely the same. You knew exactly what you were doing and you did it with a completely straight face.”
“The best marriages are not found. They are built, one kind day at a time. I have watched you build good things your whole life, so I am not one bit worried.”
“I still think about pulling you up the hill on that old red sled. Your cheeks were pink, your mittens were soaked, and you wanted one more ride.”
“I was away for work for most of the years you were small and I told myself why. The reasons were all true and not one of them was worth the thing it cost me.”
“You have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Here is one more thing to carry with you today, and it is your dad's love.”
“I have walked beside you to the bus stop, to school and to your first job. Today I get one more walk with you, and it is the one I am proudest of.”