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The support I never had could have saved me time, and I would certainly be farther along at this moment. However, that absence taught me to value having, and if I pass this lesson on to you earlier, it is so you have more time to learn what I could not see.

I like what my father once paraphrased: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” And right now, I think of all that the little one who descends from you will one day behold. The heaviest burdens I pushed were so that you could soar, and if I have dedicated my existence to you, it is so that from my ashes, you may always rise again.

Out of love, I will try not to spoil you with excessive gifts, but instead, without being absent, I hope to build you up. With this line and these strands, I wish to teach you to catch your own fish. Live by what I have taught you and seek to understand what I could not. Honor who I was for you by becoming the best you can be.

Thank you for reading, my friend!

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A toast to our family!