Dear Cadence,

Over seven years ago, I was moving into my dorm room when your mama walked into my room with a tray holding a bowl of chicken noodle soup, some crackers and a flower.  She said “I’m Christan, your new suitemate.”  I didn’t know it that day, but she would end up being one of my best friends in college.

We went to our classes, ate in the dining hall and all the other things that made us typical college freshmen.  Our college had a curfew, so we would wait until someone came to make sure we were safe in our rooms before we crawled out the window at the end of the hall, sliding out onto the balcony beside the roof.  We’d take our pillows and blankets with us and talk for hours right there under the stars.  We talked about the day we would graduate, the day we’d marry the loves of our lives and even about the day when we’d have babies.

Your mama was married less than a year later and you were born three years after that, just a few days after she walked across the university stage to receive her diploma.  It was my first day of a new internship, so I couldn’t come to Memphis to meet you that day, but your daddy kept me updated all day until you were finally born.  I drove down to see you not long after that and had you in my arms within three minutes of walking through your front door.

I was here for your first birthday, arriving just in time to see you smear that cake all over your face.  And I was here the day you turned two, too.  And today, as you turn three, you’re sitting on my lap as I type these very words, completely absorbed in watching Snuggles and Cuddles try to jump on us.

And completely unaware of just how much I love you.

Happy birthday, Cadence.  You’re going to love being three!

Love,

amy beth