Tuesday, May 4, 2010
A Letter to Avery
1:42 PM | 
Posted by
Team A {Squared}
Dear Avery,
Some day you will not be a little girl anymore, and you will certainly ask Daddy and me all about your "Special Eyes." I'm sure you will hit an age when you despise being different and hate your unique Cat-Eye pupil; you will scream at me for contacts and refuse to wear your thick but adorable wire-rimmed cataract glasses. Like every other girl, you will just want to be like all your friends.
The scrapbooks and pictures we have kept will explain your disease and the struggle you began at the age of 21 months. However, the most important thing for you to know cannot be explained by books and albums. You might not even understand this letter until you have a child of your own.
My sweet Princess Avery, yes...you are different from all the other girls. You are so, so special. God made you visually impaired, but in doing so He gave you the power to make a difference. In the two years since you were diagnosed with Cataracts, over $10,000 has been donated to visually impaired children in your name. Friends and family love you so much, and have moved mountains in your honor. Your story has touched people you have never met, and the money raised from telling your story has helped hundreds of babies just like you. In your short 3 1/2 years on Earth, you have indirectly bettered the lives of so many. You are a ray of sunshine.
It is very cliche to say that every cloud has a silver lining, but it's true. Please don't live your life viewing things in black and white. Yes, Daddy and I were devastated by your diagnosis. We would never have wished such pain and struggle on our beautiful first born. But now, two years out, we can see all the positive things that came from your darkness. We are overwhelmed to think of the difference your disease has made to others - and the light that you have brought to their lives, as well as ours. You have given hope and help to so many visually impaired kids...as well as their parents.
If you learn anything from reading your scrapbooks and seeing your name in print, learn that it IS possible for one person to make a difference. At almost 4, you've already made the world a better place. Dream big, precious girl. The universe is yours for the taking.
Love,
Mama
“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” Helen Keller
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2 comments:
beautiful...absolutely beautiful. ya even made me tear up a bit.
it's been a hard road, little miss sunshine and probably will still be rocky ahead...but i've got total faith in you. you're mommy and daddy will never EVER let you down.
(great pic guys!)
xoxo
me
Erin, beautifully put! She is such a ray of sunshine and she will treasure your words forever. She is lucky to have you for a mommy. I hope that Avery will always know how much she is loved by us all.
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