[ WP ] A terminally ill mother wrote several greeting cards to her daughter for the birthdays/anniversaries/life achievements that she wo n't be there for . Her daughter opening one of the cards .

“ Dear Jenny, 
 Well, you ’ ve finally made it. Your 18th Birthday. I know I ’ ve written this every time, but I wish so badly that I could be there. I can imagine you -- looking beautiful, an intelligent young woman with your whole life ahead of you. You know that I love you very much, and that I know you will be successful in whatever you do. I hope your dad gives you some sort of fatherly advice today, something more profound that ‘ stay away from boys, they ’ re still up to no good. ’ 
 My beautiful, lovely, intelligent daughter: Happy 18th Birthday. I wish I was there. 
 Love Always, 
 Mom ” 
 
 
 Jen re-read the birthday card she opened on her 18th birthday. To date, that had been her favourite one. It was creased and yellowed on the inside now, corners worn from her resting it on the rim of her vanity mirror. The once-vibrant red cover, now faded with most of its lemon-yellow glitter worn off, boasted a big “ 18 ” in the middle, with rainbow block letters below that read “ you ’ ve got your whole life ahead of you! ” 
 
 
 It was the sweetest gift that Jen ’ s mom could have given her -- greeting cards for every birthday, every graduation, every significant moment in her life -- written before her mom passed away from cancer 23 years ago. Jen was just four years old. 
 
 
 When she was younger, her father would give Jen a card one at a time, fearful that she wouldn ’ t be able to resist opening them all at once, but on her 18th birthday, he passed on the entire box of all the letters to her. 
 
 
 It was a light birch colour, about the size of a shoebox. The small bronze latch squeaked a bit when you opened it, and you always had to be careful as one of the hinges lost its metal tine that keeps it together. 
 
 
 It turns out that you need a pretty big vessel for a lifetime of milestones. Maybe that was why her 18th birthday card stood out as the most special -- it was the time, in some way, that she could be closest to her mother with a life ’ s worth of messages all within her grasp. 
 
 
 The temptation was pretty great in the beginning to tear at each coloured envelope and read every one. She got pretty close on particular evening after a whole bottle of pinot and a too-light dinner. To this day, Jen is thankful she didn ’ t do that. To consume them all in one fell swoop would have spoiled it, and she would never have a new note to read from her mother again. 
 
 
 It was part of why birthdays were so special -- a new message from the mother that she barely remembers. Her mom thought of it all -- graduation, first breakup, buying a house, going to university, having a child, getting engaged -- Jen was often astounded just how many milestones a person experiences in their lifetime. 
 
 
 Unfortunately, today was a milestone that she didn ’ t have a card for. It seemed that her mother had thought of everything, but who could have predicted this? 
 
 
 I guess sometimes people don ’ t like to plan for the worst, and just hope for the best. She figured re-reading the 18th birthday card again might give her strength for where she had to go today. 
 
 
 Sticking the card back onto her vanity between the wooden trim and mirror, she took a deep breath. 
 
 
 Walking into the hospital for her first chemotherapy treatment, she wished she had the strength that her mother had while facing the same disease. Today certainly was a milestone, a first, and in a way, she did have her whole life ahead of her. It just seems that it wouldn ’ t last very long.
