Dear Avery,
Happy birthday!!!! Today ushers in a new time in both of our lives; you are officially 13. I literally have trouble typing the words. It is unreal that 13 years have passed since your birth!
Your 13 years of life have been such a fun time. I tell people all the time that I absolutely love every stage of having a child – each one more than the last. You have been an absolute pleasure to parent and live life with. Although you aren’t perfect (and neither am I), it really has been the most fun 13 years that I’ve ever had.
Being a teenager will be a time of life that you won’t ever forget. These next 7 years will see you through the remainder of junior high, high school, and the start of college. It’s crazy to think how much you will change and grow, and how many life-shaping decisions you will make during your time as a “teen”. I don’t know if I’m ready, but I have every confidence that you are.
Avery, to me you are so bright. And, although most people think of you as “academically” smart, I’m lucky enough to know that you are “all-around” smart. You can read people so well, you know when to speak and when to listen, you have common sense aplenty, and you are compassionate. You take care of your sister and are her biggest champion. Most of all, you love the Lord and are learning to seek Him more and more.
I wish I had a dollar for every time you have made me laugh. You do it without realizing that you do. Just this weekend, your dad and I were doubled over at your reaction to a scene on Modern Family. It was a classic “Avery moment”. I thank you and God that my mind is filled with thousands of these. If I’m ever having a bad day, I can think about you for even a split second and the clouds lift.
Let’s you and me make a pact: Let’s be gentle with each other over these next few years. Let’s make some awesome memories and have some big adventures. Let’s pave the way for you to do all the big things that I know you are working for.
You will never have a bigger cheerleader than me. The world is yours and I will move mountains for you to dream any dream that you can imagine … but I will also still spank your bottom when you need it. (Discipline doesn’t stop at 13, just in case you wondered.)
Happy happy 13th birthday to my funny, driest sense of humor ever, loving, cute, animal advocate, smart as a whip son. You are amazing and I love you more than you could imagine! …. Mom
