Dear Sidney,

Eleven years ago today, in a still, quiet operating room, I heard the cry of a babies’ first breathe. In that moment, the sound of your voice became the song of my heart.

The years since that day have flown bye.

I am so incredibly proud of the person you are becoming!

You are everything good and perfect in this world.

You are strong.

You are passionate.

You are loving.

You are dedicated.

You work hard.

And you have a deep, abiding faith.

God has written the most glorious chapters for you these last ten years and he will offer another equally marvelous one in this your eleventh year.

I will be here to help you navigate the course ahead. I won’t always have the right answers (or the answers you want to hear), but I will try to live up to the title of  Sid’s Momma.

Thanks for bearing with me this last year as we have adjusted to some new-found freedom you so richly deserve. Promise me we can keep up our late night chats? I have found so much joy in those moments of cuddling and conversation.

Before your Momma starts the uncontrollable sobbing that you know is bound to happen on your birthday, let me end this letter with one more thought-

Always, always remember that you are loved beyond belief by your family and your God. We think you are one amazing person.

Love,

your one and only Momma

PS- I put a lot of thought into picking this year’s song for you. It had to be this one….