A most joyous happy birthday to you Elle! You have enjoyed what has been more
like a couple of weeks of happy birthdays, starting with a joint mini petting zoo party in DC and
going all the way to the handmade cake from your Aunt Rachel. You loved every minute of all the parties and
presents and most importantly -the love.
It has been a great month, for example you have gotten to
see all of your cousins whether in DC or Utah.
You have gotten to see all your grandparents too, which is such a
treat. You took a Duke reunion trip to
Austin and got to play with a bunch of other kids. And the last week in Utah, where I wrote
this. So much family and getting to be
outside in the fantastic weather and beautiful mountains.
Birthdays can be a reflective time, and what I have learned
with your first two is that the reflection is turned up quite a few notches
when it is your child’s birthday. As a
result, I have been thinking quite a bit about the last year, what a great year
it has been with you. We have made a
move from The Bahamas back to the DC , where you attended ‘school’ for the
first time and learned so much, and now we are on the cusp of the move to
Addis. Lots of movement in the Korol household,
per the norm. And you have thrived so much in that movement and
adventure. You are brave and strong and
oh so happy. You bring your joy
everywhere you go and make people so happy to be with you.
When you turned one a year ago with your block party in
Nassau, I was so relieved. Relieved that
you were healthy, and growing and happy.
Relieved that your mom and I had made it through the year. Relieved that you were stronger and more
resilient. Relieved.
And now we are here, your age has doubled and your
development over that year has been astounding.
This year, instead of being relieved, my reflection are all about
joy. This year, you have had personality
and verve the whole time, and you aren’t so fragile. In fact at this point, you sometimes seem
more resilient that your dad.
So now you have turned 2 and today is also about looking
forward. Thinking about where we will be
and what you will be doing in a year is hard, but not because I want to keep
you in your joyous state forever. No, it
is hard because you have made such incredible strides and growth over the last
year that projecting where you will go is just too hard. As a proud dad, I almost think you might be
applying for college or something grand in a year. But thankfully, we have quite a few years of
exploring and joy between now and then.
Love,
dad
