Hopes for My Daughter

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My Dearest Girl,

Tonight you cried for me to hold you as I tried to lay you in your bed to sleep. You don’t often cry out at night anymore so I took the opportunity to hold you, rock you, and sing you to sleep. Tomorrow you will be three years old and I am being painfully reminded of how the passing of time is excruciatingly quick when it comes to childhood.

As I held your ever-growing body in my arms and glanced around the nursery that is becoming more and more of a big girl’s room by the minute, I whispered my love to you and offered a prayer of gratitude for the last three years. I also thought about my wishes and prayers for your life. Below are some of my hopes for you. Happy Birthday.

I hope you never stop being amazed by the world around you.

Even before we even entered the “Why?” phase of toddlerhood, you looked at the world with wide-eyed wonder. When you’re a child, everything is fresh, new, and exciting, but as you grow the world can lose some of its spark. Don’t let it! I hope you continue to seek answers in this world. Ask the hard questions and help solve the answers.

I hope you find your passions.

Right now you live equally for Disney Princesses and Thomas the Tank Engine. You sing “Let it Go” at the very top of your lungs and ask me to read you around a hundred books a day. You love to dance and you’re about to start playing soccer. I don’t know which you’ll prefer in the long run, and the thing is, you don’t have to choose. Your imagination is limitless and when asked what you’re going to be when you grow up. You put on your thinking face by squinching up your face tight and yell, “a princess astronaut.” Whatever you decide you want to be or do, please do it with the same gumption.

I hope you won’t stop laughing.

There will come a day when you start dancing less freely. You’ll stop skipping across the park. You will leave the princess dresses at home. Your laugh, oh my girl you have the best laugh, may even become a little quieter. It breaks my heart already to think about the day you become fully self-aware. I can see the beginning of it when you’re next to a group of “big girls” and they don’t include you in their play. You don’t cry, you don’t often get your feelings hurt, but I know it’s coming. I hope that your spirit shines and you know how uniquely special you are.

I hope you find your group of girls.

The friendships you have with other women will be complex, but they will be the most important. Find your sisters, the ones who hold your heart when it breaks and who laugh with you until you pee your pants. Your girlfriends will become your family and you will need them in ways you can’t begin to imagine.

I hope you surround yourself with strong women.

As you grow up, you will come to find that it takes more than a village to accomplish your goals … it may actually take a small army. You will learn to rely on those women around you for guidance and support in all aspects of your life. Gather your troops carefully and look for mentors who will push you to be the best you can be.

I hope you will always know your worth.

It is one thing to be told how very special you are, but another entirely to feel it. I want you to always feel you are worthwhile. I hope that you are surrounded by those who value your mind and honor your point of view.

I hope you know my love for you will never waiver.

Before you were born everyone told me the love a mother has for a child is all-encompassing, but I couldn’t begin to understand until you were placed in my arms. I have spent the last three years in the deepest love affair I could ever imagine. Being your mother has been the single greatest joy of my life. No matter what the future holds or how many doors are slammed in my face during your teenage years, I will always be on your team. You will always have me.

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Ashleigh
Ashleigh always knew she wanted to be a mom, but a stay at home mom, not so much. At 26 she found herself trading in her lipstick and high heels for Burt’s Bee’s and nursing bras. The first of their core group of friends to have kids, Ashleigh and her husband Eric strive to maintain their fun loving lifestyle while simultaneously raising their toddler daughter. Luckily, Tiny Girl is an adorable extrovert who loves getting out and about as much as her parents. On weekends you can find the threesome strolling the aisles of Target, road tripping it to Charleston, or hosting friends in Irmo for epic board game battles.

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