What I want for you on your 18th Birthday

Happy Birthday Sweet Daughter,

Here on the eve of your 18th birthday… there are no words for how important you are to me, for how you coming into the world expanded and enriched my life.

What I want for you is that you feel the freedom to move forward in your life… to follow your curiosity, to follow threads of relationships and interests that infuse your life with meaning, with love, with depth.

What I want for you is that you touch life and life touches you and when you encounter walls, hard feelings, grief, distrust… that you reach out for support, someone to listen to you and even accompany you in the muck.

What I want for you is that you have trusted friends and while I may not be your first call, I am here for you, I love you and I want to listen.