I can't believe it's been five years since we met you. The night you were born, you came so quickly. You were suddenly just THERE and before I knew it, the doctor and nurses were all gone, your Dad was asleep next to me and there you were--sleeping in my arms for the first time. I don't know how many hours I sat there, just staring at your face. You were a complete mystery to me--one that I have honestly not stopped unraveling since. Kid, you are so many things all at once; not a day of my life has passed that that hasn't confounded me. The depths of you--your great feeling and spirit--it just astounds me. I only hope I'll prove a worthy companion and confidant as you bring that incredible spirit out into the world.
You're five, my girl. Five. It's so big. You've spent these past years just growing into the greatness of your sensibility--a thing that makes your life harder than the average bear's and yet infinitely richer too. It's hard to look into your future and not see the dichotomy this will create; you are a bringer of light, my dear, which means that in your life, you will often tread into darkness too. But, I've seen the fierceness of your spirit and the tenderness of your love and I know the one who gifted you with them. You're going to find trials on your path, babe, but I have no doubt you'll overcome them all with a great abundance of joy and a fierce, fighting spirit. We are two of a kind, you and I. You were cast from the same mold as me and, like your mama, you're going forge much of your character in the fire. 
This year has been such a big one for you. From London to Vienna to your "United States Home", you've shown us such joy, such love, such resilience. I've loved living life through your eyes; there are so many things we've done and accomplished that would have meant so little if you had not been there to shine your light on it, my girl. In the end, you've become the only happy extrovert in a family of hermit-like introverts and it's made you something of a steward of our hearts. You tread us out into places we think we'd rather not be and show us what it's like to live and love in a completely different way than our own. You've taught me more about love in your short life than all the years of my toiling youth could manage, so when I say I love you, I know you understand the depths that it can reach. My love, like yours, will never wane. It's yours--on and on...Until the end of time, my girl,
Your Mama Gigi
