Happy Birthday, Madeleine!
You continue to amaze me, and the last year has been no exception. You have always had an incredible belief in right and wrong, and have been unafraid to call out infractions when you see them. You increasingly take the long view, applying strategies to put people and laws in place to effect improved fairness. I see you merging the immediate and long-term views, to create a consistent approach.
I have never considered myself a ‘nostalgia’ guy. But when I flip through pictures of you as a baby, then a little girl, young lady, and the other important steps that got you here, I do understand that tendency.
I dearly love the kid you were. And when I see the trajectory you have set for yourself, I look forward with optimism for the person you are becoming. But, I have to be careful. If I allow myself to dwell on either the past or the future, I borrow irreplaceable attention from the present, And, from the moment we met, the present has been a gift (get it, present/gift?), which I would not want to deny myself - or you.
The transition to adulthood is, at least in part, a process of loosening the bonds one has with their parents. It is bittersweet, because parents so love the closeness we enjoy with our children. But we know that our purpose as parents is to make ourselves functionally redundant. And I am increasingly pleased with that redundancy.
It means the world to me that you have chosen, during this time you have before returning to school, to spend some of it with me. I look forward to the times we will share in the future - whether that involves me flying across the country to wherever you settle, or flying you to Europe, or somewhere else I may settle (or coming back to the Couve, if I stay here).
You are in my heart, every minute of every day of my life. Any time that knowing that is a source of strength to you, I hope you will use it. But when that seems in the way, or inconsequential, there is no need to dwell on it. It is real nonetheless.
Love,
Dad
