Every necklace
“We have had the same argument about the same thing for years. Neither of us has budged an inch and neither of us has ever actually left.”
“She believed she could, so she did. Take pride in how far you've come. Have faith in how far you can go. You are capable of achieving anything you set your mind to.”
“I still get a little nervous when you walk into a room. I hope that never changes, and I do not think it will.”
“Thank you for being patient with me while I figured out how to apologize. You deserved better from me, and I know it.”
“Some days this year, all we could do was get through to tonight. And every night, you were still there beside me, still hopeful.”
“Every morning I wake up and make the same easy decision all over again. I choose you, I choose us, and I choose this life we have built together.”
“After all these years, I still reach for your hand without thinking. It is the most natural thing in the world, and the best one I know.”
“You put a note in my bag when you were small and I read it at work. Two of the words were spelled wrong and I have never had a better day.”
“You kept every dreadful drawing I ever did and put the worst of them on the fridge. They are still in that drawer. I looked. You never threw out a single one.”
“I have cheered from a lot of bleachers, auditoriums and front rows. The seats have changed over the years, but the fan in them has not.”
“You have heard every one of my jokes at least a hundred times. And you still laugh, or at least you roll your eyes in a loving way.”
“You have taught hundreds of students, and I may be your slowest one. Year by year, you have taught me patience, kindness and how to listen.”
“They handed you to me and I had no idea what I was supposed to do next. I have had all these years to work that out and I am still mostly guessing.”
“You are starting a home of your own with the person you love. I hope you still call me about big decisions, good news and nothing in particular.”
“You may be a bride today, but you will always be my little one. I will blink and see you at five, twirling in your favorite dress.”
“There is still a drawing of yours on the fridge, and I am not taking it down. It is a horse, or maybe a dog. Either way, it is my favorite piece of art.”
“This year asked more of us than I ever thought one year could. And here we are, still standing, still laughing and still together.”
“You still take my breath away, the same way you did the first time I ever saw you. Beautiful inside and out, kind in every way that matters, and entirely mine.”
“You are another year older, and somehow you are still the one teaching me. You have taught me patience, humor and how to say sorry when I am wrong.”
“Years in, and you still walk into a room and take the whole thing with you. I have watched it happen a thousand times and it still catches me off guard.”
“This year changed a lot of things, but it did not change us. If anything, it showed me how strong we are when we stand together.”
“I spent a lot of years hoping he would find somebody genuinely kind. Then he brought you home and I stopped doing any of that worrying.”
“We go entire months without speaking and it has never once meant anything. Ten minutes in a kitchen at a family thing and we are straight back where we were.”
“You have given me countless reasons to be proud, but the proudest moment is telling others you're my daughter. Happy birthday! Always keep me in your heart, for you are always in mine. I love you forever and always.”