March 21, 2012
Dear Kate,
Happy 18th Birthday!
This is the first playlist for your next iPod . Some of the songs in this list are there for obvious reasons. Most of these are songs that you know. “Summer Before the War” is a Connie Dover song about the summer before Great Britain entered WWII. When you put the songs together, they tell a story. We hope it will be your life’s story. Do everything you can to make it so.
- No matter what life brings, “We Hope You Dance” through everything.
- Celebrate your “Independence Day!”, the first of many waiting for you.
- Don’t ever get to a place in your life when you have to say “I Wish I Had a Horse.”
- Always remember that you come from a long line of folks who hail from the “Boondocks.”
- Those same folks were “Born Free.”
- When you look at your “Reflection”, don’t ever hide from who you really are because “You’re Beautiful, just the way you are.”
- Go to “Ireland”, to Great Britain, to Europe. Learn as much as you can about the “Summer Before the War” , and the years and decades that followed it.
- Share what you learn with everyone you know, so that you never have to ask the question “Have You Forgotten?”
- Express yourself with the “Colors of the Wind” and be “That Girl” you know you wanna be.
- Always remember to go “Down to the River to Pray.”
- Once you get to “The River”, jump in and swim. Live your dreams.
- Keep your eyes open. “Don’t Blink”, because if you do you will miss the important stuff, and you don’t “Wanna Miss” any of it.
- “Years” will go by much quicker than you can imagine. Always remember that you have a home. Time, distance, life and death can never separate you from us. Nor can they separate you from God.
With all our love,
Mom and Dad
“ I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”
Jeremiah 29:11 The Message