November 12 - Somewhere in My Heart, It's Still Your Day

Happy Birthday, you.

I don't know whether you'll come across these words today, but somehow, writing them feels like a little tradition my heart hasn't quite learned to give up.

Another year of your life. Another birthday. And somewhere in this world, there's a person who still wishes you a beautiful day, even from a distance. 

I hope you woke up smiling today. I hope someone made you feel special, that you received flowers, unexpected little surprises, warm hugs and all the attention you secretly enjoy. I hope you wore something that made you feel beautiful, ate your favourite food and laughed until your cheeks hurt. And I hope life has been gentle with you.

You know, if there's one thing I would still wish for you, it's that you never lose that little girl inside you. The one who can be silly, laugh without thinking, get excited over the smallest things, and feel loved without having to ask for it.

I hope you continue discovering new reasons to love yourself. I hope you never make yourself smaller to fit into someone else's expectations. I hope you are respected, understood, protected and loved in all the little ways that make an ordinary day feel special.... I sometimes think about how birthdays are strange. We celebrate someone being born, but we rarely understand how many lives that person quietly touches just by existing.

You touched mine in ways I probably never explained properly.

I once imagined celebrating your birthdays, arguing over what gift to buy, surprising you with something you wouldn't expect, and watching your reaction. I imagined being the person who would make you smile on a day when the whole world was supposed to celebrate you.

Life wrote a different story. 

And that's okay. I don't want this birthday wish to carry sadness or ask anything from you. Today isn't about what happened, what could have happened, or what we couldn't become.

Today is simply about you.

If I could wish you three things, they would be these:

May you always have a reason to smile, even on difficult days... May you never question your worth or feel that you have to earn the love you deserve.... And may the coming year bring you the kind of happiness that feels peaceful, genuine and effortless.

I don't know how many birthdays will pass from here, or whether our paths will ever cross again. But I know that on November 12, I will always have a little extra warmth in my heart.

Happy Birthday, my favourite girl.

Stay happy. Stay healthy. Keep that beautiful smile. And somewhere between all the wishes you receive today, I hope life gives you a little more of everything your heart has ever quietly wished for.

Some people become part of our past. But the good wishes we have for them don't necessarily have to become part of the past.