Ivy Hearts
“Nobody gets to tell you how big your dreams are allowed to be. Dream as big as you like, and then work as hard as you always have.”
“There is a message from you on my old phone that I have never deleted. It is eleven seconds long and you are asking me to come and pick you up.”
“I saw the late nights, the cold coffee and the piles of notes on your desk. Every one of those hours counted, and today the whole world can see it.”
“I did not get to pick my family, and somehow it still picked well. You arrived with a wedding and stayed as something far closer than a guest.”
“Our kids will give you cards and hugs today, and you deserve every one of them. But I wanted you to hear it from me too. You are an amazing mom.”
“Some of my favorite evenings are just you grading papers next to me on the couch. I hand you the red pen, you read me the funny answers, and I fall in love again.”
“I used to worry about getting older, until I realized who I get to do it with. Every gray hair and laugh line has been worth it, because I earned them with you.”
“When you were little, you helped me bake your birthday cake and ate half the frosting. It was lopsided, it was perfect, and I still think about it every year.”
“There will be easy years and hard ones, and both are part of the story. Through all of them, hold on to each other and do not let go.”
“I miss the nights of hot cocoa and the same old Christmas movies. Wherever you are this year, I hope you make a cup and think of me.”
“You come home in scrubs, tired to the bone, and still ask how my day went. That is who you are, at work and at home, with everyone you meet.”
“I forgot something that mattered to you, and that is not okay. It was not a small thing to you, so it is not a small thing to me.”
“You have someone new to call when things go wrong, and that is how it should be. But if you ever need your old dad, I will still pick up on the first ring.”
“Every visitor comes through the door and heads straight for the baby. I understand why. But I want you to know I still see you first.”
“I spent years wondering who would ever be good enough for you. Then I saw how you two look at each other, and I stopped wondering.”
“I have been distracted lately, and you felt it every day. I am sorry. You should never have to compete with my phone or my work.”
“I will take the next feeding, the next diaper and the next load of laundry. You have done the hardest part, and now it is my turn to carry more.”
“At dinner I say that you are doing well and change the subject to the weather. That is not what I think. It is all that will come out with other people there.”
“You teach the lessons in the book, and you also teach kids that they matter. That second lesson is the one they will carry with them for years.”
“The first time we laughed until we cried again, I knew we were going to be okay. Thank you for finding the funny side, even when it was hard to find.”
“I will probably send you home with leftovers every time you visit. It is not because I think you cannot cook. It is because I miss feeding you.”
“You have taught hundreds of kids, and somehow you still have lessons for me. Patience, kindness and how to really listen all came from watching you.”
“Our kids do not know yet how lucky they are to have you. One day they will, and they will thank you for all of it.”
“There will be a lot of people at your wedding who love you. None of them have loved you as long as I have, and none of them are prouder.”