Dear Bean-

Happy belated 16th birthday, gorgeous girl! I owe you a big apology for this one being so late. These past few months have been a whirlwind with your brother’s graduation, vacation, then getting him off to school. I know darn well you’ll take this as a sign that he is my favorite- while he’ll argue just as strongly that you are. So clearly I’m doing something right if I’m able to tick you both off at the same time. 😉 

The truth is, you’re my favorite daughter. You always have been, you always will be. 

So. 16. BIG birthday, kiddo. You’ve taken to driving super well and I haven’t even yelled at your once that you’re going to kill us! That’s a win for both of us. 

15 was a year for you! You played volleyball, hated geometry, loved social studies and stressed over your gazillion Regents exams. You got glammed up for some dances, learned about the wild, weird world of travel volleyball and went on your first girl’s trip with me. 

You are hysterically funny, deviously smart, and not above using all your strengths to get what you want. People think you’re quiet which always makes me giggle. I mean, you are around people you don’t know well or big groups, but among those you feel comfortable with? All bets are off. 

You love animals, spending time with your favorite people, chocolate, and, for some reason, Love Island and whatever scary/horror movie you can find. You can’t stand fake people, people who pretend to be dumb, or too much attention. In short, you’re pretty damn perfect as far as I’m concerned. I LOVE that this year you’ve started to not find me quite so cringy so we can go on adventures together, because you are one of my favorite people.

Varsity volleyball starts next week, and school the week after. If I can give you any advice for your junior year, it would be this:

– Relax. It’s going to be fine, I promise. You’ll do great in your classes if you study- and you always study. And no matter how hard it is, it’s not going to be geometry- level hard. You don’t need to know what you want to do when you grow up yet (or at 46 years old either). You don’t need to know where you’re going to college- life will work out. It always does.

– Enjoy. Take the time to have fun where you are right night. I know it’s hard sometimes, but dance on the sidelines, make friends in your classes, find a new hobby you love. Life can be hard- but don’t let it be harder than it needs to be. Find the joy and take it.

– Be kind. Give grace. Know that a lot of people have shit happening behind the scenes that you have no idea about. Don’t put up with people’s crap, but figure out what’s worth pushing back on and what’s worth getting out of the way of. 

You’re going to do great things, child-of-mine! Watching you grow is a joy and a privilage and we are so beyond lucky that you’re ours! We’ll try not to make the fact that you’re our only kid at home too painful for you, I promise. 

I love you,

Mom