Birthday Wishes

Happy birthday, Grandma. You've been feeding people who weren't even hungry for decades. You are the most powerful person in this family. You just don't make a fuss about it.

Happy birthday, Dad. You've been saying 'we'll see' for thirty years and you've been right every single time. I owe you an apology.

Happy birthday, bro. You were the first person I knew I'd never have to explain myself to. I still don't. That's the gift.

Happy birthday, Grandma. The lessons you didn't even know you were teaching are the ones we carry the longest. Thank you, for all of them.

Happy birthday, sis. There's a particular kind of safety only sisters know , the kind that holds up against everything. You are mine.

Happy birthday, Uncle. Of all the safe places I had growing up, your front porch was a good one. The easy talk. The way you listened like the conversation actually mattered. The way you made me feel like I was already a person worth taking seriously, long before I felt like one. It still is a good place. You still are. Happy birthday, Uncle.

Happy birthday, my love. Every day with you teaches me that the holiest thing I can do is pay attention , to your face, your voice, your astonishing heart.

Sixty years, Dad. Six decades of being the kind of man this family has quietly tried to live up to. You set the bar high , and made the climb look easy. Today we celebrate you, fully, finally, out loud. Happy 60th. We're proud beyond words.

Happy birthday, my girl. Long before you arrived, some part of me was already learning how to love bigger than I knew was possible. You taught me. You keep teaching me.