A Letter to My First Born

To my sweet first born,

You made me mom and better yet, you’re the reason I love being mom. It’s something I didn’t think about much, and something I never thought I’d be ready for, until I looked into your eyes for the first time and knew it was without a doubt one of my main purposes in life. From experiencing your first smile to frantically trying to calm you down during your first tantrum, you’ve made me fall in love with all of the ups and downs of motherhood and it will always be one of my favorite roles in life.

You are and will always be a blessing to your father and me because you made us a family. You’ve helped us grow as a couple, challenged us to slow down and focus on what matters most, and enabled us to cherish the qualities we love most about each other (the qualities we see in you). You’ve shown us what true grace entails by loving us despite all of the times we’ve messed up, inviting us in with the biggest hugs and smiles through all of our parent fails.

You constantly take me back to my childhood, a place I haven’t been to in decades through the way you see so much wonder in the world. Seeing life through your eyes has been extraordinary, and I look forward to experiencing more magic together. You make me brave – seeing you conquer your fears and try new things gives me the confidence to reach for the stars and accomplish the impossible.

You’ve given me the ability to expand my heart and love more than I ever thought I could and you set a desire in our hearts to want more children because we’ve more than enjoyed raising you. You introduced us to a pride we haven’t experienced before. Seeing the way you play, use your imagination and interact with others gives us confidence in our parenting skills because you are a wonderful YOU!

I’m not sure what life will be like when your little sibling comes into this world – many things will change when we become a family of four, but you’ve shown us to find beauty in all of the mess and distraction. One thing’s for sure, this next kid has a lot to live up to.

You are our first, changing our lives with the first breath you breathed, and our love for you will always remain constant, not only because you’re our child, but because of all of the ways you’ve helped us grow.