My sweet girl,
I want you to know that your mother and I see everything you
do.
We see you helping with little things around the house: running upstairs to get a change of clothes
for your sister, or giving your younger siblings a bath. Not because we’ve promised you a reward, or
even asked you do it. You saw it needed
to be done, so you did it.
We see that no matter how many times your brother annoys you
or ignores you, you keep trying to engage him.
You’ve never been anything but affectionate and kind. Before you knew
what autism was, you realized your brother was special, different, and gifted.
We see you rising above the drama of fifth grade. When a classmate badmouthed a mutual friend
with a hyperbolic statement, you drolly replied, “That’s a bit of an
overstatement.” When the classmate then
got upset, you refused to apologize for sticking up for a friend. You
have a maturity that we never had at your age.
We see you notice the affection and respect that your mother
and I have for each other, and hope that we are somehow setting the standard
for how you expect your future partners to treat you.
We saw that on the day that your brother went missing and
your parents were losing their heads, you were calmly finding a picture of him and
scanning it in the printer, in order to make flyers to help people find him.
We see that you are equally comfortable with art and
science. You can talk to me about Greek
mythology while you build a robot. That
precious balance will pay rich intellectual dividends for you in the future.
We have so many hopes for you. Sometimes I worry you fear you might not be able to live up to them. But here's the secret: you already have. At your relatively young age, you recognize that that the struggle to deepen the soul is more important than the climb to success. [1]
You are on your way to being the best possible version of yourself, and we are so proud of you.
We have so many hopes for you. Sometimes I worry you fear you might not be able to live up to them. But here's the secret: you already have. At your relatively young age, you recognize that that the struggle to deepen the soul is more important than the climb to success. [1]
You are on your way to being the best possible version of yourself, and we are so proud of you.
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