Sylvia is 13 today

My first born, my sweet, sensitive, passionate child. Again, not a complete listing of all of the things that make you special, but 13 qualities that I love about you.

1. You are so talented. You are pure joy on a stage, in rehearsal.  I love that you have the chance to spread your wings, and you soar.
2. You are so supportive of me, of your sister, your friends and loved ones. I love that you know just what to say when I'm feeling nervous or anxious about something.
3. I am so proud of how you were able to keep up with everything at school, in rehearsal, in our social calendar.  You seem to thrive on being busy. A great quality that you will utilize well for the rest of your life!
4. On that note, you help keep me sane when things get crazy. And things have been way crazy lately! Thanks for being part of the glue holding this family together. 
5. You are so smart. You have proven time and again that when you're determined, you can accomplish anything. 
6. You kill spiders for me!! If that's not love, I don't know what is.
7. I love that you love musical theatre as much as I do! 
8. You know yourself really well, and you are always striving to be better; to try new things, to do something that scares you.  Again, a really important quality that will make you unstoppable.
9. You have grown so much in the past year; not just physically, but emotionally. You've learned something that took me until just a few years ago to learn: you can separate other people's actions (or inactions) towards you from what's truly about you and what's not. In short, you can accept people as they are. That's so impressive for a person of any age!
10. You manage the difficult stuff with a healthy dose of humor. 
11. I love when we hang out together. Whether it's watching a TV show, playing cards, listening to music, talking or whatever...I just love being with you. 
12. You are so smart and, more importantly, thoughtful. You don't want to just pass a test, you want to understand it at its core.
13. You accept you as you are. While you try to improve and explore new things, you never try to hide who you are. You just want to be the best you possible. 

You are a teenager now. I know that's supposed to mean that we'll no longer get along or talk to each other, and I'm supposed to be scared to death of these upcoming years. But really, I'm excited to be on this journey with you. You are most definitely on the right path to having a wonderful, fulfilling life, full of love, passion, laughter and happiness. I'm so proud to call you my daughter, and I love you with all of my heart. Happy birthday, Sylvia.