To my daughter on her half birthday

Sometimes the best part about having a website is the memories I have stored here. This is a beautiful letter I wrote to my oldest daughter when she was 6 months old. I hardly ever feel this eloquent anymore.

It’s the first letter in her memory box and great to re-read now that she’s a toddler and drives me nuts some days. The world has only gotten crazier since she was born but I still have great hopes for her future.

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To my daughter at 6 months old.

I can’t believe how fast 6 months has gone by or the profound change that has taken place in my life.

I’ve gone from a scared young woman holding a wriggling mass on her chest and wondering how she was going to care for it to what I always swore I didn’t want to be, a stay at home mom, trying desperately to stay at home and enjoy these fleeting moments of babydom.

It’s been the hardest and most rewarding 6 months. You are now sitting on your own, it seemed to happen overnight. You’ve had your first cold, first bump on the head, first time in the pool, and started tasting foods.

Your dad and I joke that you’ll be going off to college next week because time is advancing so quickly and you’ve left the helpless newborn you were such a short time ago behind already.

I’m in awe of how you take in each little moment of life and often overwhelmed at the great responsibility God has blessed me with, being your mother. It’s as they say, the most challenging and rewarding job I’ll ever have.

This is a tough world we’ve brought you into and I worry constantly about what kind of world you will grow up in.

This is a world full of terrorism, disease, inequality for women. I wish I could wrap you up in a bubble at times and keep you protected from the world forever.

Unfortunately, I can’t do that and deep down I don’t want to. I want to raise you to be a light in a stormy world and pray I can figure out how. Figure out how to overcome my own brokenness and teach you to be better than I am. I can’t wait to see what you’ll become in this life.

But for tonight I’ll hold you close, savor these snuggles while I can get them. Because what will seem like tomorrow you won’t want to cuddle anymore. Before I know it you will be going off to college and perhaps one day bringing your own little girl into this world.

So on your first half birthday I want to say thank you peanut. Thank you for making me a mama. Thank you for helping me appreciate the little moments. Thank you for letting me help you discover the world. Thank you for snuggles and gummy smiles. Just do me a favor and try not to grow up too fast.

You can write regular letters to your little one with this book. It has questions, prompts, as well as space for a yearly letter.