This week is my oldest daughter’s 20th birthday. She has been an incredible blessing in our lives and her intrepid spirit and unabashed curiosity and passion has only grown through the years. Back in 2006 we took a trip to visit family in Pismo Beach, California and spent a week playing on the beach. During that trip I wrote what would become my first published poem. I have since published many other poems in various journals and literary magazines, but this one holds a special place in my heart. This poem is a captures my daughter’s spirit and her approach to life, and it only seemed appropriate to share it here as she begins her next decade this week.