Another Birthday, Another Letter: Twenty Three for Delaney!

 Dear Daughter Delaney, 

A month later and I find myself sitting in a coffee shop pondering your year of twenty two. I was with you, like in person, this year for your celebration. We ate all the food. Drank all the wine. I watched you indulge in some frivolity at your favorite restaurant and we all sang loudly as you blew the candles out. I found myself recounting past birthdays for you. Your chosen thematic parties. Topping the list was the dinosaur extravaganza. Complete with a fossil dig in our sandbox, pin the tail on the T-rex and dinosaur egg party favors. It was memorable. There was the Justice party, makeovers and fashion show included, and each and every year a different treat chosen as the vehicle for your candles. You know how to celebrate. What a gift that is. And I do so love celebrating you and your life. 

There was a weekend full of your favorites. Coffee. Brunch. Shopping. Movie watching and cuddles underneath cozy blankets. Exploring plant shops and planting new plant babies. Witnessing you, in your home, with your partner was sweet. Taking in all that is this new season for you and me and this mother daughter journey is overwhelming. In all the ways. Like, literally I find myself stopping to catch my breath and take it all in. Sometimes there are moments like that. Your birthday was full of those for me. 

The year of twenty two was life altering for you in countless ways. Perhaps, most notably was your engagement to TJ. A job promotion with the Apple. Leaning into activism and ally-ship. Engaging in difficult conversations and using your voice in a way that only you can. Yet another knee surgery. A move into a new apartment and living arrangement. You helped plan your friend's wedding and were a bridesmaid for the first time. A new to you car was purchased. You voted in a presidential election. Protested at our state's capital, numerous times. Traveled to Puerto Rico and swam with the bioluminescence. Took in countless sunsets. Purchased a wedding dress. Saw some live music. And in between the highs and lows you lived your life. Learning to not disappoint yourself. Becoming self aware and taking care of you. What a year. 

When I see you, my daughter, I am in awe of the beautiful human you are. Right in this very moment. As you are. Simply because you are you. Carrying the divine. Fierce. An extrovert. Fully embracing all that is offered to you. Kind and honest. An empath. And I do so hope these qualities remain within. For this year of twenty three a poem for you. Because there are times the words of others say it best. Mary Oliver's, Wild Geese, is one such collection. I return to this poem often, especially so when birthdays are near. As you read these lines, may they seep into your soul, speaking to you in a way only you understand, offering you a gift for your year ahead. Here's to twenty three Laney Lu and this next spin around the sun, may you enter it wrapped in love. 

I love you to the moon and back, 

Madre xo

"Wild Geese" You do not have to be good.   You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes,  over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and  exciting- over and over announcing your place in the family of things.   - Mary Oliver