you were kind of a secret at first
one i loved sharing with your mama
as we went through workdays together
plowing through baby-lawyer land
and then when you weren’t a secret anymore
i loved to talk to you
right there inside her
every day in my office
loudly and straight to her expanding belly
i’d remind you we were so excited to meet you
and as you grew bigger
sometimes you’d dance around in there
and we would marvel at your existence
and the day you were born
when your mama kept insisting
she couldn’t be in labor
because she hadn’t finished
drafting her motion
i couldn’t believe how adamantly
you insisted on this day
being your birthday
and how quickly you managed your arrival
and then you were there
just a few hours later
so tiny and not quite warm enough on your own
and it was so hard to wait to hold you
but you were perfect and beautiful and full of life
and watching you grow up
the spitting image of your mama
(one of my favorite people on the planet)
is one of the greatest privileges of friendship with her
so today, you are four
and too soon you will be fourteen
but we will push that idea aside
and celebrate the wonder of you
everything a little girl should be
your amazing curly hair
your sparkling brown eyes
your constant commentary on the world around you
your strong sense of what you want
your contagious laughter
and how very much we love you
not just your mama and your daddy
but my entire family
and i have to admit, it’s a little bit more
important to me than it should be
that you were mine first
because we were friends, Ellie-est girl in the world
even before you were born





