Dear Daughter,
Have I told you lately what an awesome mother I think you are? After spending some extended time with your son recently I am amazed at how intelligent, well adjusted and happy he is. I think that is in large part because of you. You are such a good Mom.
What I see you do so much better than I ever did is take every day moments and make them learning experiences. Just the other day you guys went to the park and flew a kite. You talked to him about wind and how it was necessary to lift the kite in to the sky. You showed him how to run to get the kite off the ground. He thought you guys were just playing and having fun but you were teaching him a science lesson. I’ve heard you talk to him about nutrition and math and how things work. You read to him all the time and answer his endless questions. It’s not just the numbers and letters and shapes you’ve taught him that impress me. It’s that you teach him about being nice and sharing and having compassion. You are teaching him about character and integrity and he is only three years old. When the time comes, his kindergarten teacher is going to be very grateful to you for giving him such an amazing head start.
Sometimes I look back at pictures taken when you were little and I’m amazed at how young and exhausted I look. I had two babies within a year and I was barely twenty years old. I was overwhelmed and tired. I remember I used to take you and your brother in the bedroom to play and I would lie down on the floor in front of the door. I always started out playing with you but I knew that if I fell asleep you would have to climb over me to get out and I would wake up. I relied heavily on my mother for advice and help. If it wasn’t for her and the fact that you and Nick were both such good babies I may not have survived.
Parenting is a “learn as you go” experience. I made plenty of mistakes when you were younger. Every Mother makes a mistake now and then. You’ve heard the story of how I rolled off the bed when I was a baby so my inexperienced and young mother put me back up on the bed only to have me roll off again. One of my biggest mistakes was when you fell out of bed in the middle of the night and hurt yourself. I think you were about four at the time. You were crying and crying that your arm hurt and it didn’t seem like anything was broken so after a quick examination and some children’s Tylenol I sent you back to bed. The next morning your shoulder was swollen and you could barely move your arm. A trip to the emergency room confirmed my worst fear that you had broken your collar bone. You had broken a bone and I made you go back to bed. For months I felt like the worlds worst mother. You had to wear this hideous vest thing for 8 weeks but you took it in stride and didn’t let it change your happy nature. Even this picture says so much about who you are. You weren’t just showing me your brace, you were modeling it. You have an innate ability to make the most of any situation. And now with mothering, you have accepted this challenge with gusto. You aren’t just raising your son, you are growing him in to the best person he can be.
Keep up the good work my daughter. When it gets tough always remember that there is nothing more important than what you are doing. And when you need a break I’ve got your back. Mind you I’ll be sending back a child hopelessly spoiled and stuffed with cookies, but that’s MY job and I take it pretty seriously too.
I have a plaque in the craft room, I’m sure you’ve seen it. It says “Here’s to good women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” I sure know a whole lot of good women. God knows I try every day to be one. And most importantly, one of the greatest accomplishments of my life is that I’ve raised one. I think you are amazing.
Love
Mom
