Ode to Kate on Your 11th Birthday

My Dearest Kate,

Today, you are eleven.

And I am elated, sad, joy-filled, nostalgic, hopeful...and well, in awe.

I see so much within you, and quite frankly, the majesticness of it brings me to tears.  You are extraordinary. 

I've never met anyone who lives and breathes for making things.  Paint to canvas, fabric to the sewing machine, hot glue to yarn, milk/egg cartons, La Croix cans, glitter, charcoal, brushes, clay, oil pastels...you are constantly creating new and inventive pieces. 

Your latest passion is to create realistic dolls and costumes.  You fashion their hair out of yarn, paint and harden their eyes in the oven, sew their costumes, and make their shoes.  This is one of my favorites...your miniature Kate doll.

When you're not painting, you're dancing or playing the piano.  In another year, you'll be primed to be on Pointe slippers in the ballet studio and taking lyrical classes.  Constantly humming a song and writing notes/words to your own pieces, you are not afraid to let your voice speak, and your body move in the world.

Just this past month, you decided that it was time to start traveling, and so with the help of your grandma, you got on a plane and spent 8 days away from home in Reno, Nevada with daddy's family.  We missed you so much, but loved that you were loving every moment of baking, crafting, and making memories.  On the last day, when asked if you were home sick, you said, "Next summer, I want to stay for a month."

Still a voracious reader, we talk about painting in Paris or baking in Tuscany or writing in Maine.  And when your little sister talks about getting married and having six babies, you say, "I don't know.  I've got a lot I want to do before I think about that."

Like dying your hair or riding millions of miles on your new bike (gears make things easier, right?) and starting your own business.

I'm not going to lie to you, Cat-uh-lone-ay, it's a bittersweet thing being your mama.  You really are the best.  You're kind and compassionate and thoughtful and wicked brilliant and beautiful and sweet and feisty and beloved...and man, I just want you to want me to braid your hair and drink chocolate milk forever. 

But, I know, that's not what you're supposed to do.  

You're supposed to meet a million amazing people, explore a thousand adventures and try on lots of different experiences.  You'll rise and you'll fall and you'll figure out who you are and what makes your heart sing.  But along the way, know that I'm here...noticing you, cheering you on, hoping beyond hope that all your dreams come true.  And when they don't, and you have to recreate your dreams, I'll remind you of the inventor you've always been, the singer who never loses the joy in her heart, and the girl who loved the other side of the country so much that she wasn't afraid to stay for a month.  And even though I'll cry when you go, I'll always hold dear the amazing, extraordinary, inspiring person you are.

I love you to the moon and back....the Happiest of 11th Birthdays,

Mama