A Letter to my Daughter on her 3rd Birthday

Dear Arielle Marie,

I’ve written two of these letters to you, one for your first birthday and then again for your second birthday. Both times I’ve expressed hope that things will get better. And then this week we watched as 19 children were killed inside of their school.

Up until that day I had actually been dreading you turning 3 because I felt like it was really the end of your “baby years” and I wasn’t ready. But that night when I was able to hold you and sing you to sleep, something the parents of those children in Uvalde, TX could no longer do, I felt so grateful that you would be turning another year older.

You’re here. You’re alive. Those shouldn’t have to be things that I am grateful for. But with all that is going on in the world, I refused to take one day of my amazing life with you for granted. You are the future. You are my hope. And every day you amaze me with your kindness, your sense of humor, and your ability to make everyone you meet feel special.

So when I watch the news and feel myself begin to worry about the world I’ve brought you into, all I have to do is look at you and I know that you are going to be a part of the movement that turns things around.