Birthday Wishes

Happy birthday, bro. I've been trying to figure out how you do it for years , walk into any room, say the thing nobody else will say, and somehow make everyone love you for it. Still no idea. Happy birthday.

Happy birthday, sis. Of all the people I could have grown up beside, the universe gave me you. The first person who knew every weird thing about me. The first person who never made me feel weird about any of it. I'll never stop being grateful for the assignment , for the random, holy accident of growing up beside you. Happy birthday, my first and forever friend.

Twenty-one, daughter. You are now officially old enough to do most things I've spent years asking you to wait for, and all I can say is: I hope you have the patience I didn't have at your age, and the confidence I wish I'd had. Use both. Come home for dinner sometimes. Happy 21st.

Happy birthday, my love. The best part of every day is still walking through the door and finding you in it. The look up. The half-smile. The way you make even an ordinary Wednesday feel like a small homecoming. I don't take any of it for granted. Today is yours. Tomorrow is too. So is every door I get to walk through, as long as you're on the other side of it.

Happy birthday, Uncle! You've made every family gathering louder, funnier, and a little more legendary. May this year give back even a fraction of what you give the rest of us. Cheers.

Happy birthday, my girl. Of every wild and precious thing this life has handed me, you are the one I keep getting on my knees to thank somebody for. The way you laugh. The way you fight for the things you believe in. The way you grow into your own kind of brave a little more every year. Today the celebration is yours. The gratitude is mine , and I'll be saying it for the rest of my life.

Happy birthday, sis. Some part of me was already learning how to love by watching you. The rest of me is still trying to catch up.

Happy birthday, my love. Of all the doors my life has walked me through, the one with your name on it is the only one I've never wanted to walk back out.

Happy birthday, Dad. You were the first person to tell me I was wrong and somehow make me feel good about it. The world needs more of that.