Birthday Letter
Twenty-Four: Standing Firmly in Adulthood
Dear Zoe and Talia. This past year has been full of so many changes for you both, and here I am, writing at Panera with my BFF across the table, wondering what I can say to you that I haven’t already. (You know what? I bet I started at least one other letter that way,…
Read MoreTwenty-One Reasons
Dear Aaron. Every year, these birthday letters get more difficult to write because I feel like I’m repeating myself. But then I remind myself that parents are supposed to repeat themselves, just as children are supposed to roll their eyes at us, and maybe, just maybe, you won’t mind hearing, again, how much I love…
Read MoreSeventeen: The Last Rodeo
Dear Melina, I’m writing this as I wait for you at physical therapy. The original plan involved walking while you saw Ann, but once again, we have a hot and humid day, and my own joints—my hip especially—are giving me issues. So I sit here and wait for the words to come, and since you…
Read MoreTwenty-Three: Poetry for You
Dear Zoe and Talia, It seems strange to write a birthday letter when you two are in different places on this planet. I’m pretty certain that in all other years, you’ve been in the same space, sometimes even in the same room. And now, there’s about an hour between you, and had life gone the…
Read MoreTwenty: Make a Difference
Dear Aaron, Late in the day on October 30, 2004, labor pains for your impending birth began. That evening, which was beggar’s night in Kettering, I sat on the front stoop, clutching my tightening belly as I passed out candy to the neighborhood children. The pains had been strong enough to send me to the…
Read MoreSixteen (Wild and Precious, Part III)
Dear Melina, I got back from a long run the other day and was standing in the shower when I realized that the end of June was upon us and I hadn’t started your birthday letter yet. So, like last year, it was another “Holy shit!” moment. (For real, my dear. I said it out…
Read MoreOn the Occasion of What Would Have Been Her Seventy-Ninth Birthday
Dear Mom, Today you would have turned seventy-nine! In an ideal world, you’d still be alive and mostly healthy (or as healthy as a person of that age can be, which is pretty healthy). I’d call you up, ask chat with you for a while, wish you Happy Birthday, and maybe send some flowers. Dad…
Read MoreTwenty-Two: Make It Up As You Go Along
Dear Zoe and Talia, Several months ago, I wrote “Twins Birthday Letter” in my planner so I wouldn’t wait until the last minute to sit and write to you. I’m happy to report that I began this post six days earlier than I have the last two years, though it remains to be seen if…
Read MoreNineteen: Expectations
Dear Aaron, This is the latest I’ve ever written a birthday post. Usually I think about it well ahead of time, and even last year, when I claimed to be behind due to Grandma’s passing, I had no idea that this year would be worse. I have no excuse for it—your birthday comes around at…
Read More15: Birthday Mad Libs
Dear Melina, Holy shit, what can I say? Maybe I shouldn’t start a letter like that, especially a birthday one, but your mouth is pretty much as awful as mine, so I’m going with my gut here. It’s been a year, hasn’t it? That might truly be an understatement, but these days, it’s the best…
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