Adelaide

Adelaide.

You're a hard kid to live up to.

Right from the start you bested me,

I give you all the love I have for you . . .

and then you return it to me ten-fold.

I can't keep up!

I love looking at the pictures you draw for me,

pretty much every day.

You and me,

sometimes Sera,

(occasionally even the boys--gasp!),

holding hands, sharing secrets,

treasuring together all that is sacred and feminine.

You're the daughter I never deserved,

(my mom used to tell me she hoped I'd have a daughter just like me--

you're not her),

and never thought to hope for.

You see the beauty in the world,

the light in other people,

and the hope of years to come.

Sometimes I like to look at you, when you sleep,

your soft pink cheek against your pillow.

If I could deliver the world to you on a satin cushion, I would.

But life won't be like that.

There will be tears and troubles, times of trial;

Keep with you that tenderness, that gentle love,

it will teach you to be who you are meant to be--

someone I can't wait to meet!