Dear Savannah and Randi Jo,
I have had 24 summers with you girls.
Twenty-four summers where our house has been filled with tiny footsteps running in and out at all hours of the day and night.
What started as lazy walks around the neighborhood with the local Stroller Brigade quickly turned into swim lessons, playdates at the park, Vacation Bible School, planting our first garden, and summer reading programs at the library. A few summers were full of sports camps, slumber parties, and learning to ride bikes. Then came the years of 4-H animals, livestock shows, and the County Fair. Those summers blended into Driver’s Ed, first jobs, first dates, college visits — and this Mama learning to let go.
In the middle of it all, we managed to take amazing vacations — from Maine to Mexico, camping in South Dakota and all across Colorado.
There was the summer we brought Randi Jo home.
The summer Daddy was injured.
The summer we road-tripped to Montana to pick up puppies.
The summer we (involuntarily!) lived in Texas.
And of course… the summer of COVID.
Our home went from being filled with neighborhood kids raiding our freezer for Otter Pops and ice cream sandwiches to a parade of giggling girls, laughing about the cute boy down the street and singing the newest One Direction song. Being a Girl Mom meant many fun shopping trips scattered throughout our summers, too — from combing through the $1 bins for tiny crafts to keep little hands busy, to searching those same bins for locker decorations… and eventually, dorm room essentials.
Taylor Swift, Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, the cast of High School Musical, and One Direction wrote the soundtrack to these 24 summers. And we sang them all — loud and proud — with our windows rolled down during our car karaoke sessions on shopping days and road trips.
Savannah’s birthday has always been the unofficial start of summer, and our anniversary the gentle end. We got to celebrate all of us in between — with fireworks, dance recitals, sleepovers, barbecues, trips to the mountains, pool days, concerts, lake days, movie dates, carnivals, and zoo trips.
There was growth, struggle, victory, defeat.
Healing and heartbreak.
Summers when we had very little — and summers we had an abundance.
There were tears of disappointment and tears of joy.
We laughed. We sang. We yelled. We cried. We learned.
We held on — and we let go.
These 24 summers were often messy, exhausting, and over-scheduled… and they went by faster and faster with every passing year. But I wouldn’t change a single thing about any of them. They were perfect just the way they were.
And while I look forward to having a front-row seat as you both continue to build beautiful lives of your own, I hope you will always look back — with a full heart — on the 24 summers we shared together.
Love,
Mom
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