Dear Kennedy:
If on some days I seem impatient, I apologize for not taking the time to relax with you,
I probably spent the night up worrying about how to protect you forever.
If on some days I seem distant, I promise I am always by your side.
I have a thousand thoughts a day, but you are the center of them all.
If on some days you have more energy than I can muster, I promise to still get up and dance.
Even if for just a song or two, I will never say no to the chance to spin with you.
If on some days you seem hell-bent on doing something by yourself,
I promise to let you try, but always be within reach to catch you if you fall.
If on some days I seem to need a “time out” for myself, I promise to make it quick.
3 minutes by myself to breathe and refresh to continue trying to being the best mommy I can be.
If someday you fall and hurt yourself,
I promise to kiss your boo-boos and help you heal, even if only through my prayers.
If someday, no matter your age, you are sick,
I promise to give you homemade soup, endless cuddling and cookies of your choice.
If someday in the future, you feel bullied at school and your feelings are hurt,
I promise to hold you, to listen to you and to help you understand what is going on.
If someday in the future, I find out you are doing the bullying,
I promise still to hold you, to listen to you and to help you understand how you are hurting someone else.
If someday in the future you cannot solve a problem,
I promise not to solve it for you, but help you get to an answer.
If someday in the future, you feel like you cannot accomplish something,
I promise to show you your strength and how anything is possible if you work at it.
If someday in the future, I feel you are making poor decisions,
I promise to gently guide you without ever truly changing your direction, for that is for you to do.
If someday in the future you rebel and disobey,
I promise still to love you and trust you learn from your choices.
If someday in the future, you feel I simply don’t understand,
I promise I probably do not, but I will work to listen to the words you say instead of just hearing you.
If someday in the future a boy breaks your heart,
I promise to sit you down, wipe your tears and explain the difference between a boy and a man.
If someday in the future you are betrayed by a friend,
I promise to show you strong examples of friendship that I have created with the people who love you most, as my mother showed me in her bonds with the people that surrounded me.
If someday in the future you question yourself,
I promise to sit you down, as my father did with me, and explain exactly who you are, where you came from and how strong your roots are.
If someday in the future you feel scared,
I promise to protect you.
If someday in the future you feel the need to travel,
I promise to give you a journal and a map and send you on your way.
If someday in the future you feel lost,
I promise to pray for and with you.
If someday in the future you fall in love,
I will trust that this person respects you, makes you laugh, honors you and holds you in the highest regard.
If someday in the future you fall in love,
I will trust that you will return this respect, humor, honor and hold your partner in the highest regard.
If someday in the future you choose to marry the love of your life,
I will trust that you came to this decision together in love and with God for guidance.
If someday in the future you become a mother,
I will weep at the understanding that you will finally know the love I have for you.
If someday in the future I am able to watch you love and learn with your children,
I will listen to your concerns, soothe your fears, and thank God for letting me witness the strength of my daughter as a mother.
If someday in the future I am not around,
I promise you I am, even if not physically.
If someday in the future you find yourself missing me,
I promise you will feel me at your weakest moments and pray you find strength from our memories.
If someday in the future I am gone for good,
Know that it is because of you that I ever was the woman you remember, the woman I became and the woman I worked every day to be. Without you I was nothing, with you I realized I could be anything and because of you I had everything.
Love You to the Moon, Around the Sun, and MORE Than All of the Stars in the Universe,
Mama
Do You Have a Jungle Princess? 