Strength

My Precious Child,

A day will come when your heart will break. Whoever or whatever hurt you will fill my chest with a burning anger. Please do not misinterpret my silence for indifference. I promise to hold you and run my fingers through your hair. I will list every beautiful thing about you. I will lay with you as long as you’d like and listen to you until you run out of words. But I will not fight your battles. I will not seek out the source of your pain for some sort of instinctual revenge, no matter how badly I want to.

Because I trust you. You are strong and smart and capable of things you would never imagine. Anyone who tells you otherwise does not deserve to stand near your light. Surround yourself with kindness and laughter. Never for a second forget that you are worthy of love and respect. Always remember that you can be your own hero.

Your resilience can withstand the darkest and loneliest of places. Through the nastiest of storms and the scariest lighting strikes, there are still sturdy oaks that manage to stand beautifully in the morning light. You are an oak tree, my beautiful baby. I will be the oak next to you, blocking some of the powerful Midwestern gusts, but you must stand alone. Your bark may be scratched and your branches may break but I want your to dig your roots so deep into the earth that there is no way to break you. I trust you.

Love Always and Forever,

Mom