Little Miss Magic...what you gonna be?

Zedder and her newest acquaintance, Lilly...a gift from Grandma.

Sometimes I just sit and stare at this little girl and wonder who she's going to be. I wonder if she'll live up to her potential or miss out, if she'll struggle or rise above. I wonder if she'll be the kind of girl who people look up to or the kind that people ignore. I hope she gets a decent dose of everything but when the smoke clears and the police reports are written I hope that she's as perfect as she can be.

Her Dad has some pretty firm values and beliefs and he just wants to do his best to influence her and offer independence. No lesson is really learned until you learn it for yourself.

I hope that she believes in things...in people, and in ideas.

I hope that she cares about other people at least as much as she does herself.

I hope that she wanders around this planet a little bit.

I hope that she finds some serious love and one that lasts.

I hope that she trusts people.

I hope that she is endlessly curious (and similarly aware and cautious where caution is necessary)

I hope that she stands up for herself and others.

I hope that her definition of integrity and character matches the one that Websters has, not whatever one is convenient.

I hope that she looks before she leaps but that she's always game to leap.

I hope that she spots trouble a mile away and gets close enough to get a good look but not so close that she gets it on her shoes.

I hope that she has good friends.

I hope that she chases dreams and catches some of them.

I hope that she'll be willing to say, "sorry."

I hope that she wants more for herself than what others want for her.

I hope that she catches a few breaks.

I hope that she knows herself.

I hope that the person that loves her deserves her love back.

I hope that she finds faith in something.

I hope that she makes only the kind of judgements that are important and necessary.

I hope that she loves her Dad so much it can bring her to tears.

I hope that I never inspire those tears.

I hope that she smells oceans and feels dizzy from looming mountains... that she sees desert stars and hears the noise of New York from a perch in Central Park. I hope she sits in the grass at Crissy Field and watches the fog roll over Marin. I hope she sees Paris from the steps of Sacre Coeur and finds herself lost in Venice. I hope that she loves Ann Arbor, and that she always knows how to find her way home.

I hope that someday she has as many hopes as I do...I'll still worry, I'll just worry a lot less.