Russell's 8th Birthday

8th Birthday Letter From MOM

My Russell~

This year, you commented that one day all of you will be more tall than I am. That's O.K. I’m glad you are growing to be such a strong, bright young man.

Eight years ago, you arrived on a pretty spring day. Your 7:52 AM birth was the shortest of my three deliveries.

Holding you after your birth was pure pleasure. You were all handsome-ness and curiosity. You were an explorer of the world from the very beginning. After you were born, your Dad got the honor of cutting your umbilical cord. The Bishops love you so much. May you always be as close as brothers and sisters with them. Watching you grow, absorbing the world around you, inquisitive and delighted to learn, I’m reminded each day of the treasures you bring into our world.

As all mothers do, I have goals, dreams and wishes for you. I have, as you can imagine, dozens of them, but I will limit myself to just a few of them.

I wish for the budding faith I see in you now to grow into a mighty oak tree. I pray and trust that you will bring Glory to God throughout your life. You’ll do whether you are a ministry leader or corporate leader.  

I wish for the kind heart I see you in now to stay firmly in place.  Keep it, nurture it, handle it with care.  Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you are too sensitive. You feel things deeply and you like to help others. In class, you are the child who helps others along if they don’t understand what the teacher is saying. You are kind and helpful to Adam and Tyler, who have Downs Syndrome.  

Don’t ever apologize for who you are, for what you want, for how hard you have worked or where you are going in life. Stand your ground, be proud of you.  Do not live to make others happy or to measure up to someone else’s expectations.  You have great persistence and willpower. Always be Russell. This is enough.

Be a student.  Be a teacher.  Learn at every opportunity.  Read. Be inquisitive. Ask. And when you know something and know it well – teach others. As author Danielle Smith says, there is inherent beauty in being both student and teacher.  It is a gift to learn and a privilege to teach.

I wish you wins and losses, trophies and empty shelves.  As much as I would love to see you succeed in everything you do… as much as I believe in your gifts, I must wish you challenges.  For it is within the losses, the 3rd, 4th and 5th places, and the failures that your character will be built. It is my job, as your mom, to do my best to guide you through these moments. If everything was to be easy for you, you would be ill-prepared for the ‘real’ world.  I promise you, life is not always easy.

Your dreams: do them.  Your heart: follow it.  Your family: treasure them. Your friends: be loyal to them. Your fears: embrace them and allow them to make you stronger.  The money you earn: respect and share it. Your passion: LIVE IT.

Seek joy.  In your career choice, find something that makes you happy and do it.  As MiMi and DadDad taught me, find work that you are surprised if they pay you for it.

And my ‘one to grow on’:

I wish to be here for each of your moments…. to watch you fly out of our nest and build the life God has in store for you.

Russell, you are what bliss looks like in a young man.  You are happy, confident, incredibly social, and independent. You rarely look to others for help or comfort. You are the master of your own life and we just try to encourage you along the way.  I will never forget our sweet times spent cuddling together when you were just days old. These days, you save your snuggling for reading time with Dad..

And nothing gets to me more than hearing you say, “I love you, Mom”. Thank you, competent, uniquely-created, Russell – for literally and figuratively completing our family.

I will always love you, one of my three favorite kids.