Letter to My Daughter

Dear Marlie,

Your daddy and me have been waiting for you for nine, long months! I have loved you since December 19, 2008 when we found out I was pregnant with you. I knew all along that you'd be a girl, and my hunch was confirmed by the ultrasound technician at 21 weeks. At that moment, I realized that raising a daughter was going to be a roller coaster ride...scary and fun! I don't have the best role models for mother-daughter relationships in my family. My grandmother was estranged from her mother, my mother's relationship with her mother is strained, and I hate to say that my mother and me are no longer close as we used to be. I don't know why this happens, but I promise you that we are going to break the cycle.
Being pregnant with you has given me the strength to let go of the emotional baggage I was carrying around. You taught me more about faith, hope and love in the nine months that I carried you than I could have ever hoped to learn in my lifetime. I had wall erected around my heart that few people got around, and you came along and smashed it to bits. For the first time, I feel ready to take on the emotional and spiritual responsibility of being a parent.
God chose me to be your mother and entrusted me with your life on Earth. My job as your mother is to raise you to become the best woman you can be and to give you the tools to accomplish this. I look forward to watching you blossom. My only expectation is that you value the life God gave you and live it to the fullest. I promise to stand by you on whatever path you choose to walk as long as you are happy.

I am not perfect, baby girl...I am going to make mistakes in the parenting department, but I will learn from them. You are going to misbehave and get punished, but you will learn to make better choices. I am not going to approve of some of your choices, but I won't judge you. You are not going to always want or take my advice, but you won't ever have to worry that I will stop listening. We are going to work each others last nerve and we won't always like each other, but we will never stop loving each other. This I promise.
I also pledge to always keep the lines of communication open, to always tell you the truth, to value your opinion when we disagree, to never give up on you even when you push me away, and to love you unconditionally.

I am so blessed to be your mommy!

With all my love,
Your Mother