CHEERING FOR EMILY

June 9, 2012

Dear Emily,

You are almost a year old and what a year it has been!  Without a doubt, you are the most beautiful baby ever!!  You have big bright brown eyes that sparkle with joy when you smile or laugh.  And you smile a lot!  Your strawberry blonde hair is beginning to grow over your ears and is just long enough to hold a bow clip.  You have six teeth…four on the top and two on the bottom.  You got your first tooth when you were about four months old and the process has not been easy.  In fact, cutting teeth is one of the first experiences that humans have with the pain of change.  You are tall but dainty.  You may weigh twenty pounds!  Although you can stand alone, and you can walk around a table or stool while holding on, you refuse to take those first real steps.  You still crawl to get where you want to go which works just fine so there is no need to rush, but you found out quickly that crawling is hard on your knees so you learned to manipulate a one legged scoot.  You look quite comical when you do it, but sister, you can fly.  You are too funny!!  Of course your other mode of transportation is for someone to carry you, and there is no shortage of volunteers for that job!  When you hold up your arms and make that little sound that says “Please pick me up and take me with you,” you are irresistible!  You are surrounded by people who love you - who want to protect you and make your life easy.

MAYNA AND EMILY

Unfortunately, “easy” is not always the best route.  Those of us who love you know that for you to grow and develop your skills, you have to be challenged.  In order to learn to walk, you have to let go of the table.  You have to find the courage to take those first steps.  You will probably fall down, not once, but several times.  You will probably bump your head.  You will probably cry.  The good news is that that your family and friends will be close by to cheer for those first steps, to pick you up when you fall, to hold you when you cry, and to encourage you to try again.  Falling, pain, crying – all a part of life that you will experience over and over again…practically every time you face a challenge. But God’s greatest gift to us is the love and support of family and friends who help us through the hard places in our lives and who encourage us to try again.

So go for it, Emily  - time to let go of the table and take that first step. Be brave!   You can do it!!   No worries - we are all right behind you!

I love you!!

BB