A very Happy Birthday to you, Honey!! We were driving back from Oakland (where Global Citizen has their office!!) yesterday so I wasn’t able to send you wishes then, but you were on our minds. We were celebrating the life well-lived of Papou’s Uncle Lenny who would have been 93 on your very birthday! Everyone had wonderful stories to tell about him…the memories they were holding onto from their youth and beyond. I am so thankful for the memories I have of everyone in my life. It is all we have when someone we love leaves us…the memories never do. And when our babies grow into teenagers and become adults before we can blink an eye, we can all say, “Remember when…??” and enjoy those moments over and over again. And as you continue to follow your dreams, learning new things, assisted by the memory of things you have already learned, a new understanding of memories overtakes you. As you said, “I appreciate my memories and how they have led to this moment, which keeps me connected back to the present”.

I am so happy for you, Honey, and the memories you are building with every experience you are living. They all help to shape you and make you the wonderful Charlie that we know and love. We are so proud of you and love reading your thoughts you put down on paper. We look forward to reading more of your adventures. Every new day is like a treasure and memories are like putting time in a bottle, (thank you Jim Croce), to be savored and enjoyed at any given moment.

We love you, Charlie/Carlitos.
Papou and Yaya