Dear Laura

I spent almost an hour searching for the perfect graduation card. I ended up buying one, but as I began to write in it, it just wasn't what I wanted. (I thought you were supposed to be the indecisive one.) No card captured what I wanted to say, so I decided to write one myself.

Congrats on your wonderful achievement! Everyone is so proud of you. There was a point in time when I wondered if this day would ever come-- i.e. the double-spaced-incident and the closed-until-spring-incident too, but you've proved that despite some of your airheaded moments that you really do have a good head on your shoulders. Especially since you graduated with academic achievement. Way to go!

More than that, I am so proud of the person you've become. You are so kind, so thoughtful, so compassionate. Truthfully, you are just the kind of person who's fun to be around, which probably has something to do with getting voted the "Girl Most Likely To Make You Laugh" in your graduating class. It was no surprise that you were nominated as Homecoming Princess and Prom Queen because you are nice to everyone you meet.

I treasure our friendship. When I answer the phone, "What. Do. You. Want?" when you call me at some ungodly hour at night, deep down (or not so deep) it makes me feel good that I am the person you call. And even though I continue to tease you about the time we drove home from Grandma's and you spent the entire 75 minutes filling me in on the drama about your junior prom that went a little something like this:

Well, so-and-so is clearly trying to sabotage the evening because we had already decided as a group go to such-and-such a place for dinner and then he called and made plans elsewhere. He is trying to RUIN EVERYTHING! So-and-so is going with so-and-so and she doesn't even want to go with him. It is just going to RUIN EVERYTHING!

I did actually care because it was important to you. I loved helping you with graduation announcements and with your party. Even more, I love when I come over sometimes and we just sit and talk for awhile. It seems that the older we get, the age difference gets smaller and smaller.

I have to mention what a good aunt you are to Jackson. I always knew you were excited to have a nephew (not as excited as if he had been a girl, but excited nonetheless), but I had no idea that you'd be so crazy about him and especially not so quickly. He was barely two days old when you told me that nearly everybody at your school had seen the pictures of him and you came down to visit just so you could hold him. Now that he's older, I know you have fun taking him over to see your friends just to show him off. I hear about "Worwa" all of the time. He just loves you.

So congratulations on your high school graduation. Your whole life awaits you. You will have a blast at Mizzou. I'm not sure they are quite ready for your dedicated levels of team spirit and spunk, but campus will definitely be a happier place with you there.  Continue to love the Lord, work hard, remain happy-go-lucky and you will succeed. And you will make the world a better place as you do.

Love you!
Your Big Sis, Amy

P.S. When did you get so gosh darn pretty!?!