04/03/2023
I watch her sleeping peacefully, and I wonder who sheāll be. I wonder what will matter to her. I wonder who sheāll let through her walls, who sheāll trust with her secrets, who sheāll love.
She doesnāt know how long I prayed for her. She doesnāt know how long I dreamed Iād be a precious babyās mama.
So now that sheās here, and now that my years with her are flying by so quickly, I wonder what our relationship will look like as she grows.
I know Iām the one who will guide it. I know our walk together will naturally and inevitably land on rough terrain and perilous paths. And I know Iāll be the one to lead us through it, not around it, and then back to the path that takes us home.
I think about the thousands of things Iāll share with her ā thereās so much I want to tell her. And I want her to know she can talk to me. About absolutely anything.
At 6, I hope sheāll tell me about the friend she played with at recess. About what she learned and how she grew. I hope sheāll share her feelings and her fears, her hopes and her dreams...as best she can in her 6-year-old words.
And when she turns 16, maybe sheāll tell me how scared she was to drive alone for the very first time, but how it tasted something like bravery and skill and independence. I hope sheāll tell me what the āmean girlā said to her when she comes home crying. And Iāll tell her about all the times Iāve been hurt like that before.
She can tell me when sheās lost her way and acted like the mean girl herself. And Iāll lovingly stroke her hair and try to tuck it behind her ear, and Iāll help her remember who she is and how to get back to the right path again. Iāll remind her what a beautiful gift it is to have the strength to be the woman who lifts the others up ā that itās even more meaningful when youāre young and when itās hard.
I hope sheāll tell me when sheās fallen madly in love, and Iāll tell her how vividly I remember the thrill and the joy and the heartache. Iāll tell her I remember all the tough things that come with that experience, so she doesnāt have to be afraid to talk to me. And Iāll wait until I leave the room to cry ten thousand tears, my shoulders heaving as I think about her enduring all the things that I remember.
And then, when sheās 23, or 33, or even silver-haired, she can tell me about the most amazing things that have happened to her, and she can count on me to be painfully proud... so in awe of her that it hurts.
Or if, at some point, her life goes to shambles, she can tell me how she just wants to come home for a little while. To get her bearings. To start again. But she can also tell me if she needs to go āround the world to find something sheāll never find at home.
She can trust me to care about the little things...first when sheās little, then when sheās grown. She can trust me to appreciate the truth of her experience in the world. I want to know her biggest opinions and her deepest values. I want to see all the pieces of her heart. I want to know who she is at her core.
I want her to know that what she feels is real and true and she has every right to feel it. It means something. I want to hear it all. Iāll be there, and Iāll believe her. Iāll never devalue her truth. And Iāll do everything I can to help her heal her anxieties and cast out her doubts.
I want her to know she can trust me forever with her feelings... with her heart. I want her to know I am with her, and I am for her.
I need her to know that I will always be her safe space. And with me, she will always have a soft place to land.
And at the end of the day, no matter what, she will always be my baby.
Sheās the precious child I dreamed of.
And if this life with her is my only dream come true, I hope she knows it was more than enough.
As a matter of fact,
it was everything.