On Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011, our daughter, Sierra, will celebrate her 16th year on this earth.

Sweet 16 so it is called for reasons that are not entirely clear. Sweetness isn’t a recent revelation we have spent the past 16 years anxiously awaiting the day that would suddenly bestow a sunny disposition upon our daughter.

As her father my opinion may be slightly skewed, and I’m sure her brother would strongly disagree, but I believe Sierra would score in the top five percent of the nation if a ranking for sweetness, kindness, and sunny disposition were established. It’s who she is and who she’s always been.

It is a great privilege granted to us parents to have a front row seat in watching a child grow into a young adult and beyond. A privilege I am thankful for every day as my wife and I do our best to provide our children with a foundation that will be strong and stable enough to successfully launch them time and time again onto the various paths they choose once they go out to face the world on their own.

So, at 16 my daughter is only a few years away from her initial launch into the world and that scares the hell out of me, but it would be selfish to build a rocket and not let the world see how high and far it can go.

My children’s birthdays turn me into a sentimental sap as I uncontrollably think back to the years that have passed.

When I think back to when Sierra was a little girl the memory that always comes to mind is the way her face would light up and she would yell out, “Daddy!” as soon as she spotted me and come running and jump into my arms every day when I picked her up after school. I can hear and see it, like it was yesterday and it makes me smile now just as it did then.

Maybe it’s my imagination or a case of wishful thinking clouding reality but I can still see a hint of that look on her face when I pick her up after school or haven’t seen her for a few days. I don’t think it’s in Sierra’s nature to be anything but genuine but even if she is feigning excitement at the sight of her dear old dad, I hope she doesn’t stop.

So, what privileges await my daughter as she advances to the ripe old age of 16?

She can get married in Scotland without parental consent, marry in South Dakota with parental consent, donate blood, join the armed forces in the UK, drink booze and buy smokes in several European countries, drop out of school, and move out with parental consent. Nothing Sierra’s been anxiously waiting for…I hope.

No matter how much disbelief I conjure up, Sweet 16 it is and will be. My girl Sierra…sixteen for a year but forever sweet. Can I get an “ahhh” from the sappy section?

Happy Birthday, Sierra.