Tell me About Your Childhood

I often find myself wondering who you will be and what kind of things you will do when you are all grown up.  I'm so excited to watch you fulfil your dreams and to fall in love and graduate and start a career and travel do all the wonderful things that you are going to do.  And every once in awhile I find myself wondering what you will say about your childhood.  What will you say about growing up with me as your Mother.  What memories will you have of me and your Dad that will shape your future.  Maybe you will remember your Dad teaching you how to cook, or me showing you not to be afraid or shy around new people.  I think hard about how we are going to get you through your childhood relatively unscathed, with all the joy and love that you have now.  Because if you can keep your easy going personality, your enormous easy smile, your authentic joy in the discovery of new things, your strong attachment to the people you love, your determination and focus and your unrelenting happiness....I have done my job.  You are already an amazing little baby girl, with so many wonderful qualities.  And I know that you will change, and that you won't always light up when you see me, and that you won't always be able to get right back up after a fall, and that's okay too, because it's part of growing up. And your life won't be perfect, even if I imagine it that way every single day.  I don't have the power to give you a perfect life without any pain or anger or sadness.   But I do have the power to make sure that the good outweighs the bad and that in the end, when someone asks you about your childhood, you will have fond memories and it will make you smile.  I love you Little Miss. You're perfect in my eyes.