Tomorrow, Tessa will have the gall to turn 15 years old. The nerve of that child! The truth is however that 15 suits her. Each and every year she says she’s not sure she wants to get any older and then she adjusts to her next age with grace and ease. She is quite simply one of the greatest souls ever to walk this earth and I know, that’s a pretty broad statement, but it’s true. There is something special and magical about her.

The older she gets and the more she struggles to determine who she wants to be and what she want to do with her life, the more I admire her determination. It would be easy at 15 to say this is too tough, or to lament the things she is forced to go without, but she never does. Sure, she misses her IPod that died a few months back and which we can’t yet afford to replace. Sure, she’d like a better phone or designer shoes, but she rarely, if ever, complains. She knows things could be worse, and overall she is happy to accept that material things are not as important as a sense of security and belonging.

I am blessed to have her in my life, and I look forward to 15, knowing that it will be another great year. So, Happy Birthday, Tessa, and thanks for brightening my day again and again.