Today was my daughter's birthday/graduation party. It was lovely. The best part of the whole party was that she asked people (or groups) to come up and help her light each candle of her cake.

I know that many of you remember that her best friend was badly injured in a car accident last year, spending a long time in a coma. She has recovered well, although she did sustain some brain damage, and she walks with a slight limp, which is way more than we EVER expected. However, the speech that my daughter gave before she requested her to come up to light her candle pretty much had all of us bawling our eyes out. I was so very, very proud of my girl today.

They've been best friends since they were 8, so to see them together today, when I think of how closely we came to losing her last year, was just the best gift!