When SBJ turned one, several friends were kind enough to address congratulations to me (some to my husband, too, of course).

We’re going to a first birthday party today, for a little girl we’ve met once, for five minutes. Her mother struck up a conversation with my husband in a cafe on Saturday morning, as they admired each other’s charming toddlers. They’re new in town and don’t know many people, and she is clearly an enterprising extravert, so a minute or two into the conversation she invited us to her little girl’s party!

I was lying in bed this morning, willing SBJ to go back to sleep after an unscheduled nappy change (he goes from deeply asleep to wide awake as if responding to an injection of IV caffeine). One of the compositions I drafted in my head was a birthday card to the mother of the birthday girl.

I don’t know her at all. But I can imagine things accurately enough, I think, to write this to her (and therefore, to all mothers-of-one-year-olds out there).

Happy First Birthday, Mama!

Warm congratulations on a whole year of parenting your little girl on the outside. You are brilliant and amazing!

Well done on coming through the boot camp that is early parenthood. Your biceps are bigger, your reflexes sharper and you have learned at least 374 new skills, many unanticipated.

Every wonderful thing about your little girl is a credit to you and the love and energy you put into parenting her. And you’ve been doing it for a whole year! You deserve a medal!

Enjoy the next 365 days, as she learns a new trick every eight minutes and goes from being a baby to a little girl. Every time she does something charming, give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve worked hard for this.

What would you add?

I tell you, I’m everywhere these days. Follow me on Facebook for daily links, resources and Sacraparentalish tidbits, on Pinterest for lots of lovely links and on Twitter for ranting.

You might also like these other posts:

Four things I don’t have time for (like ironing)
I am brilliant and amazing (and so are you)
Making parenting easier: the water’s lovely (all about the headspace)
The self-care report (particularly good for parents and pastors)