Dear Lexi,
Happy 9th birthday! This year’s celebration is
quite different from previous birthdays… no going out to a restaurant, no big
family gathering, no birthday party with your friends. No one ever anticipated
a global pandemic in 2020, and our family has effectively been on lockdown for
over two months now.
Despite the fact that we can’t celebrate exactly the way you
would have liked, you have taken all of these obstacles in stride and we are
making the best of it. I have the afternoon off work so we can play in the sunshine
and bake your double-chocolate birthday cake together. We’ll order sushi and
rent a movie of your choice (Scoobs is the winner I believe). We’ll have
presents and calls from friends and family and the most gorgeous day of the
year, weather-wise, just for my little ray of sunshine.
As always, it’s such a pleasure watching you grow and
mature. You have become quite a little artist – painting numerous animal
pictures and inspirational quotes and nature scenes while on lockdown. You
absolutely love scooter-ing outside while your siblings are skateboarding, you
still obsessively love your Pengwee stuffed animal, and you eat most things
(especially sweet things) with voracious pleasure. Actually, that’s how you
live most of your life – voraciously. You smile big and hug hard (like a small
hurricane coming at you) and laugh loudly and bounce when you talk, and I
couldn’t love you more for it. You still love colourful clothes and everything
bright and it makes ME feel bright just to look at you.
Thank you for being such a shining star of love and light –
our crazy Middle makes our world shine and we wouldn’t have it any other way. I
can’t wait to see what this next year, and all the years beyond, hold for you.
Love,
Mama
