Thank you for not giving up and for believing in yourself almost as fiercely as those who love you. Thank you for letting me watch from the sidelines as you become a little more yourself every day. Thank you for eating everything I put in front of you - except roasted broccoli, because you can't be perfect. Thank you for loving me.
Your sisters always say that you're my favorite and that I think you do no wrong. They're only a little wrong. You are not perfect, my love. Your ridiculous use of the words "bruh" and "lit" are all the evidence I need of that. You are, however, so immeasurably wonderful that the lines are often blurred.
Thank you for being such a bad liar that you usually give up halfway through. Thank you for being the calming voice I hear when I come a little too close to crossing a line. Thank you for still getting excited for driveway soccer. And, thank you for the patience you show when I'm not able to go out and play.
Eva, your thirteen years have been full of sunshine and love. Thank you for bringing that to all of us. We could not love you more if you put on a real shirt more than once a month. May this year show you more laughter than you will ever get from your silly google jokes. And may you always remember our song.
You are my sunshine. My only sunshine.
Always,
Mama
