Your second birthday is somewhere around this date, and I’m sorry I don’t know which day it is.
It’s hard to put into words what it feels like to realize that two whole years have passed without being part of your life. Two years of birthdays, little milestones, new discoveries, laughter, cuddles, and all the ordinary moments that become precious memories as the years go by.
I have learned that sometimes life can change in ways we never imagined. Misunderstandings can grow when there isn’t an opportunity to talk openly, to hear one another’s hearts, and to understand that two people can experience the same situation very differently.
I have tried, in so many ways and through every avenue available to me to find a way through the circumstances that have kept us apart. I have reached out, I have tried to understand, and I have hoped for a path toward healing.
But I have also learned that some things cannot be repaired by one person alone.
Forgiveness takes two hearts willing to meet somewhere in the middle. Understanding takes two people willing to listen. And sometimes, no matter how much one person hopes, prays, or tries, the other person has to be ready to take that step too.
Perhaps that is one of the lessons I hope you will carry with you as you grow.
Never be too afraid, too hurt, or too proud to listen.
Value the ability to forgive and to live in grace knowing that others will fail you. Nobody is perfect in this life.
People are complicated. We make mistakes. We misunderstand one another. Sometimes we hold onto hurt because it feels safer than opening ourselves up to the possibility of being hurt again. But there is so much to learn when we are willing to listen to another person’s heart, even when their perspective is different from our own.
Life has taught me that time is one of the things we can never get back.
There will always be “if only” moments in life. If only we had talked sooner. If only we had listened a little more. If only we had found a way to set aside our hurt long enough to remember how much we loved one another.
I don’t want you to grow up believing that love means never having conflict. It doesn’t. Love means remembering that people matter, even when things are difficult. It means leaving room for forgiveness, understanding, and second chances.
I hope that as you grow, you will always have the courage to keep your heart open.
And most of all, I hope you always know this:
You have been loved since the very beginning.
I wish I could be there to celebrate your birthday with you, to watch you blow out your candles, to share a piece of cake, and to see the little person you are becoming.
I cannot change the time that has already passed. But I can hope for the days ahead.
And one day, I hope you will know your Grandma—not through the circumstances that kept us apart, but through the love I have carried for you all along.
Happy birthday, sweet one. May your life be filled with joy, peace, kindness, and people who teach you that love is always worth protecting.
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