Posts from the dear evelyn Category

happy birthday, evelyn!

we’ve been counting down the sleeps till today. she went to bed last night with the giggles, and made sure i’d say “surprise! happy birthday!” as soon as she woke up (i did). theo got mad he didn’t have any presents, but still helped her to open them. i asked her what she wanted for breakfast, she said: cereal. we’ve kept it simple this year, with presents at 7am and brownies for breakfast (after our cereal). i’ve worried that i haven’t made her birthday special, or exciting. but i forgot how kids can make anything magical. the build up alone is thrilling enough.

i just wanted her to feel loved this morning, when she woke up. i wanted her to know that today we are especially grateful for her life, in our family. i know that that is essentially proven over years and the day to day normalities that make up those years, but today, we celebrate with cake and balloons.

we love you, evelyn! you are a joy to your family. i love your imagination, your curiosity, seeing you as a big sister, your energy, your love for people, your will and determination. and your hair. you have got great hair.

happy birthday, pookie!

dear evelyn: march 2013

now you’re lost

lost in the heat of it all

girl you know you’re lost

lost in the thrill of it all

frank ocean, lost

dear evelyn,

i’ve been listening to this song lately, it’s one of those songs that can be on repeat and i’ll never get tired of it. as the lyrics suggest, i get lost in it. you’ll find, i hope, that music can have this effect on you. it can be incredibly powerful and emotional and moving. so much so, that sometimes you might find yourself wishing and dreaming and hoping for things that seem unattainable. it does that for me, anyways.

i initially wanted to write this letter to you to warn you against this idea of getting lost. lost in books, songs, pictures, games, conversations, whatever. getting lost in things can make you one minded, not able to focus on anything else. it can be all consuming, and disappointing when it might not work out. these seemingly unattainable things, might actually be unattainable.

but then, they may not.

i’m constantly struggling with this. this desire to dream and create and be new, pushed up against what is real and tangible and right in front of me. it’s easy to throw aside dreaming and trying new things, because it’s scary. it’s easy to throw aside real, because much of the time it’s boring. it’s important to find balance. but what i’m also getting at here is passion. it’s important to live passionately, even if you might make a wrong turn. you can always get back on track. be passionate. be thoughtful.

so, evelyn, get lost. get lost in that story. get lost in that dream. explore it. question it. add your voice to it. ask me for help with it.

just make sure your bed is made and clothes put away before you get lost.

love,

your momma

a couple weeks ago we celebrated dr. seuss’s birthday by taking pictures with his books. so much so that we added in the giving tree to the mix. i can get lost in these books all the time. and this afternoon, we got lost in taking these pictures, and it was a lot of fun.