From Dad

Dear Clara,

I can’t believe it’s been 18 years since you were born (just barely) on my birthday. As I’ve said before, you were the best birthday present I ever got! And you’ve been a great birthday buddy ever since.

It’s been so wonderful to see you grow both physically and otherwise over the intervening 18 years, from a tiny baby to an amazing young woman. You have become a remarkable person, unique and very much yourself, and I’m so excited to see what you will do now that you are on the cusp of adulthood. You’ve come so far in your confidence and your willingness to express yourself since all the challenges you had when you were a little girl with communicating with other people. 

I so admire the way you seem to know yourself and who you want to be in the world, and the way you seem to be able to hold onto all of that even in the face of all that the world throws at you. You’re very much your own person and I think that’s an incredible quality to have. It’s so easy in this world to be (or try to be) just like everyone else, and you seem able to resist that. 

I love the values that you hold and hold others too. It’s clear what you care about, what’s important to you, and what you expect from others. But you’re never unpleasant about it with others – you’re non-judgmental and kind, and give other people a lot of grace. I love that you take the Gospel and add the other things that are important to you, and then apply that to the world you live in.

You bring so much goodness to our family – you show up with a fun spirit, a willingness to try new things and make good things of a bad situation, and a helpful attitude. I’m grateful for the ways you bring the testimony that you have and the experiences you’ve had to our family and share them with all of us. 

You genuinely care about other people, whether it’s other members of our family, friends or acquaintances from school or church, or even people you’re never met. You’re a great friend. And it’s always fun to watch you meet and interact with new people, because they’re often charmed by you. Even just this past week, I watched Granny and Papa’s face as you joined our FaceTime call and how they lit up in a different way when you came on the screen. 

You’re incredibly responsible and dependable – you have always just taken care of things you needed to care about, and Mom and I have never had to chase you or be on you about getting things done, whether it’s homework, making meals, or just generally quietly doing what needs to be done. 

You’re endlessly creative and gifted in so many different ways. Whether it’s baking, cooking, needlepoint, drawing, painting, ceramics, or so many other things, you seem to have both a wonderful aptitude and a willingness to put in the hard work to get better and really produce great work. In these and other areas, you work hard and stick with things in a way many others wouldn’t.

We will certainly miss you when you finish this school year and go to do something new – our family won’t be quite the same with you gone, just as it hasn’t been quite the same in the weeks when Millie is gone. But I and all of us will be so excited to see what you do next, what you put out into the world, and what life and the Lord give back to you as you do so. I know it will be amazing.

Lots of love

Dad