Dear Abigail,
You are three today. You are such a joy to our family! You are fun, and smart, and sassy and undeniably beautiful. Compassionate and emotional with a vivid imagination. Bossy but compliant (usually). You know, and have always known, your own mind and you cannot be swayed or distracted once you have made a decision.
You let your emotions drive you and you seem already to be our family artist.
You are painfully shy around strangers, just like I was, but in your comfort zone you are a performer. Practicing facial expressions in the mirror, making up songs, and dancing and singing in front of cameras, mirrors, dolls, or anyone you know well enough to allow to listen.
You love babies and animals and you stand up and fight for anyone and anything you feel is being treated unfairly. Even if it is me that you are fighting against, I will always try to encourage that in you.
You are a very pretty girl. So pretty that sometimes it makes me nervous. It is very easy for people to see your beautiful face and not bother to get to know your personality. Your heart breaks easily, three or four times a day, and it breaks the hardest when you feel as though you are not being heard. Part of being a middle child, I suppose.
You are gifted. So, so very smart. Consistently a year or more ahead of an average child of your age, at least according to the charts and milestones used to measure where you “should” be. Another reason I will never allow you to get by on your looks.
You are also very self-aware. More so than any child I’ve seen at your age. You know how and when to use your looks, your facial expressions, your body language. Who will respond to baby talk and who will be impressed when you pull out the big guns, your “yes ma’am’s and thank you sir’s” You can read a situation and know when is a good time to test your boundaries and when you need to be mature beyond your years.
You are here with me every day and you know the challenges your brother and I face together better than anyone. You are there to remind him when to calm down (despite being the one to push his buttons in the first place) and you are there with kisses and “I love you, mommy’s” when his aggression turns on me.
And there are some times (many times) that you spontaneously burst into tears.
Whether it is about a doll you are pretending to mother, or your real baby sister, or a friend hurt on the playground, or even when you think it’s me being too hard on your brother, you feel deeply, with your whole soul.
And I hope you never change.
Love,
Mommy
Leave a Reply