To the long car rides
And the junk food trips
To the loud radio
And miscellaneous gifts
To the goodbye hugs
And “Hello agains”
To the happy beginnings
And all the sad ends
To the “You look goods”
And the “Eh, not so much’s”
And the deep conversations
That no one else touches
To the 5-minute arguments
And later apologies
And the “How do you do this?”
And the help with technology
To the I-can’t-hear country songs
And the speaker-vibrating bass
And the dealing with people
With undeserved grace
To the long midnight laughter
‘Till we’re told to shut up
And the splitting of drinks
Between two paper cups
To the cooking our own stuff
‘*** we’re just that cool
And the angry frustrations
With people at school
To the late-night shrieks because of the mice
And letting them go because we’re so nice
Here’s to the worst times
The bad, and the good
And here’s to “I love you”
And “By me you’ve stood”
I love you, dearie
And I always will
So here’s to 18
And time standing still