A Letter to my Baby Girl, 6/23/2016
Dear Baby Bean,
In less than two weeks, I’ll be holding you in my arms, but
for now all I can think of is all of the wonderful moments that our lives will
hold in the coming years. I have so many questions- what will you look like?
Will you be an outgoing, center-of-attention diva like your mama, or will you
be more quiet, witty, sweet and patient like your daddy? I can only hope that
you are a beautiful mix of both of us, a perfect mix of all the traits that
make me love your daddy so, and all of the reasons he adores me.
The last 38 weeks have flown by so quickly- especially
because we found out so very early that we were pregnant with you and had to
keep it close to our hearts even though we wanted to shout it from the
rooftops. The moment I told your daddy you’d be joining us- and the look on his
face, the ear-to-ear smile. He loved you from that first moment, the first time
he saw your itty bitty heartbeat, I knew he was a goner.
I can’t promise you that I will always make the right
decisions as a mama. I can’t say that I will always be your favorite person, or
always make the choice that makes you the happiest- but there are several
things I can promise…
I promise to love you like my mother loves me, by
celebrating your successes and encouraging your sense of self, always telling
you that you are beautiful and building your sense of confidence and your happy
self. I promise to have fun with you, but still protect you and keeping a
watchful eye on your decisions- but it’s okay to make mistakes. I’ll support
you and love you through them. It was this parenting quality from my mom,
especially, that made me a successful, confident woman in my teen and adult
life.
I promise to love you like my father loves me, to savor the
daily moments with you. To never be too busy to read to you every night, to
take your calls when you are having a hard day. To tell you how much I
absolutely adore you and how much I cherish being your parent. To debate with
you- encourage you to challenge what others think- in a respectful but
confident way- to think for yourself. I’ll support you while you explore, trust
your instincts and marvel at the person you’ve become.
I promise to never stop demonstrating the love that brought
you here- your daddy has always been a sense of inspiration to me and the
absolute love of my life- and you will always know how much I love him. I used
to think it was gross to see my parents kiss when I was growing up; but their
relationship was the basis of every relationship I’ve had since- and the reason
that I found the love with your daddy.
There are so many people who already love you and are
anxiously awaiting your arrival. Your aunts, uncles, plenty of cousins,
grandparents and friends- and even though we live far away from most of our
family, I promise that you will know them- they will be a part of your life and
a part of your story.
I can’t wait to meet you, Baby Bean. I can’t wait to get to
know your personality, your quirks, your sense of humor. I can’t wait to guide
you through this crazy life and show you all of the wonderful things I’ve
learned- and maybe we’ll learn some things together along the way.
With so much love,
Your mama
