My Dearest Brooks, 

I read something the other day that brought a tear to my eye..

“There are many crazy things about being a parent and one that definitely wasn’t in the brochure is the way you don’t actually parent one person, you parent many, many different people who are all your child. There’s the newborn, the baby, the toddler, the pre-schooler, the primary aged kid, the pre-teen, the adolescent, the full-blown teen, the young adult, and then the adult. They all answer to the same name. They all call you ‘Mom’. And you never even notice the inflection point where one of those people turns into the next.” – credit unknown

From behind my camera, I watched you as something inside began to hurt. You suddenly seemed just a little older. Your mannerisms, the way you spoke… and I realized that I was meeting you for the first time. As a three-year-old. And that my little two-year-old was gone.

If only I had a little more time to say goodbye…

It is the greatest struggle as a mother. It is the truest joy and honor watching you grow up, but it will forever be the greatest heartache as these years pass by.

Brooks, your growing personality has filled our home with joy and laughter in a year when we needed it most. Your sweet spirit beams from every inch of you and it is incredible to witness. Thank you for reminding us to enjoy the little things in life.

Happy birthday, my sweet Brooks.

With every piece of me and more…

Mom