And just like that, we have a 13 year old child. Just kidding! There was nothing “just like that” about it. Thirteen years is forever! Think of all the laughs and firsts and tears and stories and songs and friends and disappointments and time-outs and homework and lessons and books and holidays and colds and fevers and field trips and play dates and seasons and rules and meals and snacks and fights and presents and games and vacations and video games and TV shows and heartbreaks and snuggles. One evening a little over 13 years ago I looked at the many new baby items littering our tiny New York apartment and said to Troy, who was fresh out of therapy for parenthood panic: “The baby is going to always be with us. Like all the time.” This was followed by profound silence as we together realized we’d forgotten that the abstract was about to become very concrete.

I think this picture perfectly sums up 13 years of parenting. Happy birthday to our favorite person whose intelligence, talents, tolerance, kindness, bossiness and wit make everything a beautiful mixture of both the abstract and concrete. Like all the time.