My Dearest Daughter,

One of the happiest days of my life was the day you were born and I can’t believe your second birthday is coming up so soon!  Your birthday will always be important to me because it’s the day I became your mother.  That’s something that nobody else but me can be.  Your ten little fingers emerged into the world that day and grabbed hold of my finger and my heart.  It seems like yesterday that you were born.

The sad truth about life is that it always goes by so fast.  James 4:14b says, “It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

Each day I try to soak in precious memories of time spent with you.  Sometimes I take pictures, record videos, or jot down notes about you but many of the memories have to stay just that.  Memories.  Today you learned how to scoot down the stairs on your bottom.  It has taken weeks to teach you but once you found the confidence to do it for the first time, this afternoon, you wanted to do over and over all day long!  Today you wanted to call PawPaw {which you say with an adorable southern draw} so we called PawPaw.  It made his day!  He’s been laid up in bed with a bad back but when he was talking to you today and listening to your babble and giggles I could hear the smile in his voice.  Tonight, when your Daddy and I put you in bed and waved at the door as we always do saying our “Goodnight”s and “I love you”s you surprised us by saying, “I love you” perfectly.  It made my heart swell up and I hugged your Daddy tight after we shut the door.  I feel so blessed to have you in my life.

Life passes very quickly.  Try to remember that and enjoy what you have.  Right now.  There will always be another goal to achieve but there will never be another today.  I used to get caught up preparing for tomorrow and missing out on today.  For instance, I would work all spring and summer trying to get a good tan so that I would have one when I went to the beach.  Then I would lay out non-stop at the beach so that when I came home everyone would comment, “You must have been to the beach.”  I did this ritual for years without realizing it was pointless.  Not to mention, it was horrible for my skin!  I don’t advise it.

Don’t live for your peers approval.  This is a lesson it took me a long time to learn and am still reminded of every once in a while.  No matter what you do someone won’t like you.  Or they won’t like a decision you made. Or your dress that day.  That’s okay!  Seek to please God above all else and don’t worry about what people say.

Precious time.  I cherished the time with my grandparents and still do with the ones who are still here on earth.  I can remember sitting as a little girl on my grandfather’s porch {who I called PaPa, pronounced PawPaw with a southern draw}.  We sat together often, played often, and talked often.  He was a wonderful man and I wish you had the opportunity to meet him.  If you ever have a baby brother he’ll be named after my PaPa.  I remember one afternoon sitting on that porch step drawing as PaPa was in his porch chair.  He asked what I was drawing and I remember trying to keep my voice from shaking as I told him I was drawing him.  I was a young girl at the time and I’ve never been much of an artist but I tried my hardest to make a realistic image of my Papa.  I wanted to remember him just like he was, right there on that porch.  I don’t know whatever happened to that picture but I’m sure it was thrown away by now.  More importantly I have that memory.

I have the memory of us taking turns scratching each other’s back.  I have the memory of him driving me and Nana {pronounced Nanny with a southern draw} to the mall many Sunday afternoons and him sitting in the car listening to the race. I have the memory of coming home from college and after spending a few minutes with him remembering how precious people are and that I need to slow down and not always be in such a hurry.  I have the memory of making cheese and cracker sandwiches with him for our tea parties.  At the same table you and I have have tea parties at now.  I have the vivid memory of him hugging me at my college graduation and telling me how proud he was of me.  That meant the world to me!  I have the memory of the last time he spoke to me.  We were leaving his hospital room and he was sitting up and in good spirits.  I was sitting on the side of his bed.  I hugged and kissed him goodbye and told him that I loved him.  Oh and how did I ever!!  I remember his last words to me were, “I love you too, Dollbaby.”  He always did call me that.

In your life there will be a lot of people who come and go.  Some are worth your time and your tears and others are not.  Try to find the ones who are worth it and enjoy being with them.  Don’t grow up too fast.  Stay a kid as long as you can, enjoy your high school years, make lifelong friends in college, when you’re married adore your husband, and enjoy every minute with your little babies.  Life goes by so very fast!  Dream but don’t live for tomorrow, hug those who mean something to you and let them know how you feel today, and above all, think of each day as a gift from God.  Because it is.

I love you, Sweetheart!

I hope all of this makes sense one day and doesn’t seem like a bunch of jibberish like it does to me right now.  I’ve written the majority of this letter with tears streaming down my face.  I don’t know how to effectively convey how precious time is but I hope you’ll think about it and figure it out on your own before you’re too old.

All my love,

Mom

A few bloggers and I decided to put together a Letters to our Children blog hop and we hope you’ll enjoy reading these heartfelt letters to our children.  There are 7 blogs in total and to hop over to the next blog please visit, Brandy.  She’s wonderful, I know you’ll enjoy her!