and if i step on 1 more crack

then i'll break my momma's back

even more

than my words

already broke her. 

im sorry. 

there were just so many. 

i hope you always have young eyes
but i hope you always have old eyes

i hope you have a young heart

and even younger thighs

because i know that's what i would've wanted 

i hope this fall isn't cold
that you're young in your mind

that this winter the one thing that leaves you behind

are the leaves,

that don't leave,

for too long. 

i wish you spring 

i wish you old eyes

i wish you summer 

i wish you young thighs 


i wish you everything you never wished me.

and when the leaves disappear,

and when those leaves leave my dear,

i hope you will too. 

you're another candle on a birthday cake

another vote in the election box

another not so fake id

wishing you always were

in a month from right now we'll be living down university avenue, staying up for homework past something momma never allowed. and i know we always said we'd go crazy when we got there, but the only things we'll be popping are knuckles and daily nyquil

in elementary school all i could think about was middle school

in middle school all i could think about was high school

in high school all i could think about was 18

and now all I'm thinking about is before

i said goodbye to a best friend on my 18th birthday. i didn't think i would be sad. and it wasn't until i was eating cake and showing my mom a map of boliva that i was. i spent the rest of the night crying over his favorite hymns on my favorite instrument

i thought being 18 would mean freedom but

bolivia has my heart, and michigan has my soul. hawaii has my favorite sky, but sweetheart, the sun is setting, and so is your childhood.

theres 1 month left of leaving your cereal on the counter, and having a clean slate once you come home

so stay awhile

smell the roses

it won't be long till petals hit the ground, 

and candles burn out with the rest of you.

she told me to make a list of 3 qualities i wanted in a boy. she said if i follow her "strategy" then I'd find him. 

it never worked. trust me, i tried. 

you'd have better chances wishing on planes you always thought were stars. 

and some nights I watch it with you. The nights that I'm not wasting time on my phone or with some friends, and honestly sometimes I think the whole thing is pretty stupid. But I love how much you love it, and I swear every chuckle or knee slap you do can get my mind off almost anything 

Your favorite color is boring, but I guess mine is too. You buy the same shirt in like 15 colors or the same pair of pants 3 times, and it might sound like I'm making fun of you, but I'm not, or else that would make me a hypocrite. 

You suck at typing but you know how to make a killer sandwich. Your singing skills aren't necessarily top shelf, but that's always where my phone seems to go when you take it away. 

and I'm sorry you always have to take it away 

and im sorry your rules sometimes go in one ear out the other 

and im sorry if you ever felt like I didn't love you 

because even though im always late for school

even though I've always loved the same boy you hate, and don't come home on curfew, and even though most times, when you ask me to hot tub with you, i say no 

i will always love you 

and when im gone, make sure you close the garage door and set the alarm. don't just leave your dish in the sink! Is alejandra gonna clean that up? Please, turn the laundry room light off, and always tell mom that you love her 

i might not miss much when i leave for college

but i will miss our late night talks, and every "goodnight kiddo" you always seem to say after. 

I love you dad, happy birthday.