HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JULIA*

You are smart, funny and pretty.
You have overcome so much.
You are a quiet fighter
with incredible inner strength.
You are wise and persevering.
You know how to have a good time.
Nobody rolls their eyes as well as you do.

When you were a baby you went outside at night
to look at the stars with your dad.
When you were a toddler you danced before an audience,
to music you couldn't hear.
When we came to visit we would go on walks.
You and I would soon fall far behind the others,
deep in conversation.
When you went to school, you blossomed.
You were not dismayed, by the enormity of the world before you.
You are still dancing.
You write stories.
You text in bed with your friends
when they come for sleepovers.
You are not afraid to dream.
In some ways you remind me of me.
We are so proud of you.
I love you

* I chose this picture of you because it is so much like a Mary Cassat print on my bedroom wall, which I love.