Dear Tad, Today you are sixteen years old.  SIXTEEN.  I am not prepared for this. And yet, you are taller than I am, you are shaving (though you don’t have a lot to shave and often miss spots), and your voice continues to crack and get deeper.  Oh, and I am flinging deoderant and acne […]

My darling Thumper, You are not so little anymore.  You are EIGHT YEARS OLD.  I keep writing it out in all caps because I can hardly make myself believe it.  How can you be EIGHT??? When you were born, we knew that you would be our last baby (barring something wild and miraculous happening).  So […]

Dear Rerun, I can hardly believe it, but you are eleven years old today.  Since the school shutdown began last year just before your birthday, this entire last year has been consumed by what you weren’t able to do.  It’s been a tough year for all of us, but especially you. First of all, we […]

Dear Ane, This is not the letter that I thought I would be writing to you on your seventeenth birthday.  Usually, I try to make these letters humorous and inspiring and pushy – all the things that moms can get away with. This year has not turned out at all like we thought it would.  […]