March 30, 2009 letter

To my forever child;

Things are very busy right now, love. Spring break has come and gone, and with it an interesting trip to El Paso. Birthdays, weddings and deaths have all visited our lives this month, on top of class, work, and family and friends. Where does all the time go? I've been very bad lately about watching television when I should be reading, writing or cleaning. My only excuse it that television gives me an escape from all the tension building up right now. I'm still scared and excited and can't wait for you to get here. Today's letter is from one of my very best friends in the world. Her name is Karin, and she's helped me through a lot of rough stuff, and she is one of the smartest, nicest, most caring people in the world. And to top it off, she's a great mommy, has a sense of humor that I really appreciate, loves to do the same things I love to do, and has a heart of solid gold. So, without further ado, love, here is her letter to you. Enjoy it and cherish it as much as I do.

Don't forget how much I love and need you,
xoxo mommy

To you, whom I have not yet met:

Ok, so I’m supposed to write you this letter and I have no idea what to say.

So you want me to tell you how strong your new parents will be? Or how much they love you already, without having seen your face or been touched by the blessing of your smile? Maybe I could tell you how hard they fought for you, in the face of adversity and constant assurance that this might be a mistake, or too hard, or impossible. (psst. They don’t care. They love you anyway.)

No. I don’t think I’ll tell you those things. Saying-no matter who might say otherwise-is simply inadequate. You’ll experience all of that on your own. And experience is a much greater teacher than I’ll ever be.

But I might be able to give a glimpse of your new life with your forever family.

You’ll find adventure in distant lands and history and the freedom to be a child.

You’ll find cartoons and pirate ships, swordfights and hockey.

You’ll find monsters under your bed, and armed with a spray bottle, the courage to defeat them .

You’ll find laughter and love-and two people who’d die for you if given the chance-and still have enough love to spare.

On this journey, you might find heartache, and challenge, things that you don’t understand. (But don’t worry, all stories worth telling do.) It’s how you handle these things that makes you who you are,

And Crystal and Rusty will be there to make sure you don’t have to face them alone. They’ll support you and help you to become anything-anyone you want to be…

The Sky’s the limit, and Oh! The places you will go….

Karin