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Sixteen

“losing through you what seemed myself, I find selves unimaginable; you are my sun, my moon, and all of my stars.”

e.e.cummings

It’s been sixteen years, and how is it possible, that I can love them more? Souls merge and separate but the thread never breaks, and I hold the precious details of being their mother close while as a family, we continue to make our way through this life. How lucky to learn that I love teenagers, and that the myths about them were wrong? They have their own life stories now, and these photos say what I cannot, but to me they are a thousand words of chatter over breakfast, places we traveled this year, and my record of loving them from a distance, always only one step away.

BULGARIA

VIENNA

COTE D’AZUR

ISTANBUL

POLAND

GIRONA

ANDORRA

CASSIS

MONACO

MATERA

NORTH MACEDONIA

BARI

ALBANIA

SEATTLE

VERMONT

NEW YORK

VIRGINIA

At 16, they are going to school in a new country, learning to drive, dancing at family weddings, playing school sports, discovering the joy of fast-food burritos, and uncovering new skills, struuggles, and confidences. I imagined 16 would have more strife than this, but so far, 16 is turning out to be a pretty nice year.

Happy Birthday my precious ones! I love you forever and always, until the end of time. 

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