No, I'm not one of those youth gone wild types... mom's older than me, and she's not my biological kid, but she's my kid nonetheless.

It's weird having a teenager when you're only 31. I mean, I'm sure it's weird having a teenager ANYWAY, but when you've only known them AS teenagers, it's doubly strange. Teens don't work right. They're broken. I mean, I was one once, and I was a fucking idiot. The way the emotions get all tangled up with facts and twist things around -- hell, I got that enough in my own old life, I sure as hell don't know how to deal with it when it's someone else's.

But it's good. I mean, it just is. She's really a wonderful girl. Yeah, she's 16 -- she fucks up sometimes, but who doesn't? She's smart, inquisitive, kind (most of the time ), beautiful, and talented.

I never wanted kids until I met dolo amber. As luck would have it, she had two, and I didn't have much choice. But it's been the best thing ever to happen to me. I have a family. I come home and find my wife and my two lovely daughters there. It's the home I want, and it's because of all of them, as a group and as individuals.

Corinne's had a lot of living to do in those 16 years. She's had to move around a lot. It's got to be hard to be so young and not really have a firm place to stand, a real "home." But see, that's the plan now. Things are looking up. It looks like finally, things may be settling down to the point where in a couple of years she can face the world as an adult and say "this is who I am, and this is where I come from." And it's showing.

She's growing up. I can see the changes in the two years we've been a family. She's learning things and experiencing things, and growing wiser because of it. And she's shaping up to be a damn decent young woman. And if I don't say that enough, that's on me, not her.

So, dolo, make sure Rin reads this. I want her to know how much I love the girl she is, and respect the woman she's becoming. I got into this for you, and you know how I feel about you -- but the girls are every bit as responsible for the goodness in my life as you are, and they need to know that, even if I'm not as good at expressing it when they're being annoying children.

Happy birthday, Rin. I love you.

And so does mom, even though she'd never say such a thing in public.