Daughter,
I stumbled upon this photograph as we prepare for the celebration in honor of your graduation and upcoming surgery residency. I see your fat cheeks and stubborn expression and think some things really don't change. But the 15 year old girl holding you..... I barely recognize. So young....too young, I would say today and mean it. But never afraid and never ashamed. Because I was more concerned with the mighty task at hand.......I had a baby! Oh, boy! (oh, girl....really)
So while trying to figure out the redirection of my own life (and making plenty of mistakes I know now) these are the promises I made to you and hope that I have kept them:
1. I will always tell you the truth. As you get older this will prove more difficult but always necessary. It will put me in a position of being your least favorite person at times and that will make me sad and sometimes angry. But I will do it. Because the world will tell you the truth in one way or another and I think it is best knowing that someone will always be honest with you no matter what the cost.
2. I will make your education my priority. What do I do with a bright and precocious child when I had not seen a really good model in my own young life? The best I could. No baby talk for starters. If it's you and me against the world then we are going to have to talk to each other. Next...become involved. You cannot master a system you don't know about. Lastly, demand your best.....even when your smallest effort was celebrated by so many. Asking you for more or something different wasn't because I didn't think you were good enough............rather, I knew what you were capable of even when you could not see it yourself.
3. I will grow with you. Doing my best I hope has been a model for you. Your light will shine brighter and further than mine for sure but I will always try to learn and grow so that you will know this is not an expectation of you alone. Learning and growing is not something you ever stop doing, and as a Mother, a woman, a friend.....you share those lessons.
4. I will be your Mother, not your friend. One so smart and beautiful as you will enjoy many friendships and as mother and daughter we will enjoy many friendly moments..........but there will always be a responsibility for me that extends past friendship. The same fire in my belly that kept us both moving forward when I was way to young will be with me until my very last breath. No matter how accomplished you become or grown you proclaim to be.....and no matter what the number is that is associated with your age........I will be your mother and you can count on me. (even when this doesn't interest you at all)
5. I will love you madly! I will be your biggest cheerleader and feel your smallest pain. I will try to keep these promises to you even if you may not understand it at the time. This love will cause me to be unreasonable and smothering and will, I hope someday be a thing you know for sure. Wherever you go, and whatever you do, this love is wrapped around you like a shield of protection.....telling the world to bring it.......that no thing is impossible because you are my daughter......before you were anything else.
And now your path is leading you past anything even the universe could imagine. Doctor, doctor. MD, PhD. A surgeon. Saving lives......................you may not know it......but mine was the 1st you saved. Real talk.
I love you. Congratulations.
I stumbled upon this photograph as we prepare for the celebration in honor of your graduation and upcoming surgery residency. I see your fat cheeks and stubborn expression and think some things really don't change. But the 15 year old girl holding you..... I barely recognize. So young....too young, I would say today and mean it. But never afraid and never ashamed. Because I was more concerned with the mighty task at hand.......I had a baby! Oh, boy! (oh, girl....really)
1. I will always tell you the truth. As you get older this will prove more difficult but always necessary. It will put me in a position of being your least favorite person at times and that will make me sad and sometimes angry. But I will do it. Because the world will tell you the truth in one way or another and I think it is best knowing that someone will always be honest with you no matter what the cost.
2. I will make your education my priority. What do I do with a bright and precocious child when I had not seen a really good model in my own young life? The best I could. No baby talk for starters. If it's you and me against the world then we are going to have to talk to each other. Next...become involved. You cannot master a system you don't know about. Lastly, demand your best.....even when your smallest effort was celebrated by so many. Asking you for more or something different wasn't because I didn't think you were good enough............rather, I knew what you were capable of even when you could not see it yourself.
3. I will grow with you. Doing my best I hope has been a model for you. Your light will shine brighter and further than mine for sure but I will always try to learn and grow so that you will know this is not an expectation of you alone. Learning and growing is not something you ever stop doing, and as a Mother, a woman, a friend.....you share those lessons.
4. I will be your Mother, not your friend. One so smart and beautiful as you will enjoy many friendships and as mother and daughter we will enjoy many friendly moments..........but there will always be a responsibility for me that extends past friendship. The same fire in my belly that kept us both moving forward when I was way to young will be with me until my very last breath. No matter how accomplished you become or grown you proclaim to be.....and no matter what the number is that is associated with your age........I will be your mother and you can count on me. (even when this doesn't interest you at all)
5. I will love you madly! I will be your biggest cheerleader and feel your smallest pain. I will try to keep these promises to you even if you may not understand it at the time. This love will cause me to be unreasonable and smothering and will, I hope someday be a thing you know for sure. Wherever you go, and whatever you do, this love is wrapped around you like a shield of protection.....telling the world to bring it.......that no thing is impossible because you are my daughter......before you were anything else.
And now your path is leading you past anything even the universe could imagine. Doctor, doctor. MD, PhD. A surgeon. Saving lives......................you may not know it......but mine was the 1st you saved. Real talk.
I love you. Congratulations.
Follow Nicole on Twitter @realtalknic
Wowwwww...I love this! First of all, the pics are beautiful...what's even more beautiful, is that through all the years you kept these promises...I think my favs are #1 and #3 (even tho I really love ALL of them)...I keep repeating this line in my head: "Because the world will tell you the truth in one way or another and I think it is best knowing that someone will always be honest with you no matter what the cost." ...this is one of the greatest gifts you can give someone...
ReplyDeleteThis stunned me, Nicole, and humbled me too. You are right on all counts (and I bet you have more!). Am so aware of how I came up short on most of these in my life. Can I have a do over?
ReplyDeletethe tears are streaming down my face like a waterfall. Raising a child Is challenging-doing it so young is even harder-and raising a girl can prove to be even more challenging in this day and age.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is only 4 but the world is big and bad and cruel at times-who do our daughters have besides their mom to guide them thru all the disappointments and realizations that come with growing up.
Oh this is such a lovely letter! You are a very strong person, and you should be so proud of the amazing daughter you've raised. Thank you so much for linking up at Rock-A-Bye Parents Sunday Parenting Pointers Linky Party. I hope you come back and join us again.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful tribute and an even better lesson for all moms (really, parents) and their kids. Your hard-fought, time-tested, much-earned wisdom has made a real difference in my life and in that of my daughters.
ReplyDeleteWe're all celebrating Dr. Doctor Natasha and cheering her on.
love you Heidi!
Delete