I think we realize just how GROWN-UP our grandchildren are when WE remember being the age they are.

Yes?

I remember turning 11.  I remember 5th grade.  I remember my friends, my teachers, my activities, my secret crushes.

I even remember the books I loved back then.

And in the swirl of beautiful life… moments and hours and days and months and years and decades have passed and my granddaughter Taylor Jane is turning 11.  Today.

Today!

I remember the glorious golden sun as it came up in great celebration of the day Taylor was born…

I remember her beautiful face, just minutes old…

I blinked.

And 11 years have come by… giving us hundreds of glorious golden sunrises and millions of precious minutes with our beautiful, beautiful Taylor.

11 years have changed everything.

11 years have given us more joy than could be imagined.

11 years have taken me full circle to my own childhood, my own youth… and these years have kept me young at heart and in spirit!

11 is such a perfect age.  It’s an age and a year to be filled with adventure, journeys, learning, growing, thinking, reading, loving, reflecting, changing both inside and out… but especially understanding how much you mean to the people around you. To see the love.  To feel the love.

To be loved.

Taylor… as you step into this wonderful year of 11, my greatest wish is that you remember each precious moment and know how much you inspire all of us around you.  I hope you know how blessed you are in your giving heart, your perfect soul and your brilliant mind.

I know you will be a Grandma some day, and I wish for you the perfection of having someone like YOU to love.

I love you today and always!

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAUTIFUL GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!  11 IS A WONDERFUL NUMBER!!!!!!!!!!!