To My First Born, My Favorite Child (or so my 2nd one thinks)

I will miss you when you have a family of your own and we don't collide into each other every day.
But I will never miss being your mom. I love and admire you in ways that are unspeakable.

Thank you for ignoring my insults and learning how to tune out my crazy sometimes intense judgments. Thank you for your belly laugh and your contagious kindness.

Thank you for your conversations. Thank you for your meltdowns which have taught me to be more compassionate and forgiving. Thank you for your inquisitiveness and your ability to relay interesting fun facts.

Thank you for your realism and your palpable love of toys. Thank you for your goofiness and your innocence. Thank you for your ability to be alone.

Thank you for your love notes. Thank you for your hand prints. Thank you for your sleepy smiles. Thank you for your forgiveness and your love.

Thank you for your cries and your sadness. Thank you for your intelligence. Thank you for your rightness.

Thank you for your sweet whispers.

Thank you for your anxiety, watching you push through these struggles is a testament to hard work and perseverance. Thank you for your honesty and your boldness. Thank you for your dry sense of humor.

Thank you for your rational routines and your love of dogs.

Thank you for the genuine person that you are.

I will miss you at two years old and all your jumping. I will always miss your 3 year old self and your Boston accent. I will miss you when I wasn't looking and you grew to be a video gaming 6 year old. I will miss our morning arguments when  you were 7 and didn't quite feel comfortable with life. I will miss your eight year old resiliency.

I will miss you when you have a family of your own and we don't collide into each other every day.
But I will never miss being your mom. I love and admire you in ways that are unspeakable.