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Dear Daughter ... It is one of those summer evenings that lingers in your memory long after the snow begins to fall. A full moon fills the night sky and the mosquitos have long since decided no one is left outside to bite. I am standing in the middle of the elementary school playground. I am listening close and I am sure I can hear a voice. Perhaps it's just the crickets but I am sure I hear a small tyke running past the swings and over to the well worn tyres set into the ground. Pigtails flying, I hear those familiar words, "chase me daddy, chase me." I can hear her sweet laugh as she runs for the first tyre and climbs up. I run behind and swoop her into the air, tickling her until her dimples dance. Together we walk the length of the tyres, her arms outstretched and her hands wrapped securely in my own. The memory fades into the night air and I am alone again. How the time has flown! Seven summers have come and gone and that little tyke looks more like a teenager than a young girl about to leave her elementary school days behind. Only two weeks and she will be leaving the world of playgrounds. Next year it's Junior High and another step away from her magical childhood years. I listened to her playing today as I gave her playhouse another coat of paint. It was good to hear her imagination taking her back to familiar places but at the same time I could hear the beginning of the end in her voice--the time when her wonderful imaginings will be replaced by the realities of life. It's not that I don't want her to grow up. I know she will enjoy her future years too. It's just that I know that something very precious is passing away and there is nothing that I can do to mark its journey. There is no ceremony to invite friends and family to, no post to nail a proclamation on. This event will happen slowly and surely over the days to come. At times she will enter this land again with other little ones in tow, but it will no longer be her special place. She will understand its magic then and, like myself, will feel the pain of having to leave it behind. God speed, my precious little girl. May the playground of your heart continue to ring with the laughter of the enjoyment of life. May the years ahead of you find you blessed with the childlike faith that keeps the wonder of the world fresh in your heart. May you never be too old to swing or climb on the tyres. May we grow older together but may we never grow apart, for I love you more than words can say. by Vance Neudorf 
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