To My Son | Wednesday by Leah

To my dear son,

Thank you for making me a mother. Not just any mother, but YOUR mother. For you are a radiant and joyful being, serious yet happy, intense but filled with light. You take my face in your tiny hands and stare so deeply into my eyes… focused, probing. I wonder what you see there. And then you break into a smile so huge (and toothless!) that I wonder if your look of intense concentration was just a figment of my imagination. How do you switch so quickly from seriousness to levity? Perhaps one day you will tell me.

This is an imperfect world, and as you begin to encounter some of the harsh and painful aspects of it, I hope your seriousness will allow you to give each issue, each feeling, due consideration. And I hope your levity will help you continually find the joy of this world, to shine light into the darkness.

I love you with a fierceness that scares me at times, and I will use that ferocity to fuel my efforts to make this world a happier and more just place. I will be your protector, your biggest champion, your most adoring fan, and hopefully one of your best and most favorite teachers. I will listen. I will ask questions. And sometimes I will talk too much and sometimes you will humor me and sometimes you will let me know that you have your own answers and I need to trust you.

We will have grand adventures and more ordinary ones, but I promise that each day will be an adventure.

One day you will not need me so much, and I will be enormously proud and incredibly sad at the same time, and I hope that I will smile and wave you on your way and I hope you will remember to look back and blow me a kiss, to call and write and visit, because at this very moment I cannot imagine a single day without your sweet face greeting me, your tiny hands cupping my cheeks, your serious eyes staring into mine, and your smile lighting up my world.

Love you always and then some,

Your mother