Hey Phoebe,
Could it really be your eighteenth birthday?
Yes it is! And I so wish I could see you smile as you realized
a long held dream to turn this age ...on this day.
Plans have changed however, and our day will be a bit different
So we'll spend time with you today at Mass ....
And I can tell you a few things I am so very grateful for
1. living by my side, helping out so much ...you changed a lot of diapers and started dinner far more than I can count
2. your love for the outdoors ...the sea,the air, the trees seemed to be part of you
3. jumping in the water as early in the season as possible ...early March was the record. We became more discreet after a women was arrested for letting her children splash in the water one warm April day.
4. singing your lovely songs ...and singing with your sisters ....songs from Sound of Music were my favorite.
5. skateboarding like you owned the road ...barefoot
6. your laughter
7. challenging routines and concepts that didn't challenge anyone, often challenging all the adults around you.
My all time favorite ...your refusal to answer the question "how do you think goldfish feel about their sustainability?" You found that to be perhaps the most ridiculous question you were ever asked. I could write so much here about that conversation ...but I laugh silently to myself.
8. sticking up for your classmate in third grade when teachers treated
him unfairly ...that memory lingered for you
9. watching you run ...you ran all the time when you were little ..and your powerhouse body could sprint as you got older and raced across the soccer field.
10. calling me at lunchtime from school, just so I could hear you talking
with your friends ...you never had anything particular to say or ask ...just giggles
11. teaching Owen how to ride a bike
12. napping on my bed on holidays ...its where I'd always find you snuggled up ...I loved that!
13. jumping off the cliff at World's End.
14. playing your drum ...your djembe
15. always coming out to help me with the groceries when I returned home from shopping
16. your floppy bun ...how I love the way it jiggled and swayed
17. seeing the top of your head as you came up the stairs
18. quite simply ...that for 17 years, 4 months, 21 and half days ...you were my girl here on earth
There's lots for me to say. This day is for you ....all my thoughts and prayers. Happy Birthday sweet girl ...you are missed.
Eternal rest grant unto Phoebe and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.
Praying that heaven and earth rejoices on this day with you.
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