A LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER: A MOTHER’S LOVE

To my girl who turned six….

Thank you for making me a mother, for allowing me to know the depths of a mother’s love.

Both pure and powerful, simple and raw.

My heart was sleeping until I held you in my arms. You awoke a new level consciousness, where all feelings are bigger than they were before. I have felt the soaring heights of happiness, the fiery heat of anger, the deeper shades of sadness.

Because of you our days are filled with unexpected joys. You play your way through the hours with creativity and imagination.

Watching you unfurl into a little person is quite something.

I feel all that you feel. I can feel your love when you reach for my hand, feel your joy when you giggle, feel your disappointment when life doesn’t quite do what you hoped it would.

It’s an honour to be the one who gets to tuck you in at night, pick you up when you fall, and guide you through this wonderful thing we call life.

Like all mothers, sometimes I question if I am up for the challenges that come hand in hand with parenthood. If I have the wisdom and grace to make the best decisions for you and give you the space and support you need in the right places.

I am constantly learning from the lessons that land right in front of me.

Time will pass and in a few years you will have grown and I feel far from ready to let go of the days of you being little.

I must stop to soak it all in; the mis-spoken words, the perfectly wonky writing, the picture book blonde curls, the twinkle in your eye when you know you are doing something cheeky. The ever-present illuminating innocence that shines a light onto what matters most.