Thursday, February 3, 2011

To your 16 year old self


Dear Meredith,
As I watch you learning to crawl and discovering how to scrunch your nose up like a little pug, it is both thrilling and terrifying to imagine you as a teenager.

Terrifying, because the pressures teenagers face are so intense. There is pressure to fit in, to grow up before you are ready, to try things that have huge consequence and risk. Thrilling, because I love to imagine you older, becoming a beautiful young woman. Thrilling, because being on the verge of adulthood with so much future ahead of you is an incredibly unique and special time in life.

My hope for you is that you will be confident. I pray you will feel as beautiful as you are. That you will make decisions you can live with and be proud of. That you will value yourself and value your faith. That you will have friends that call you higher and don't break you down. That you will know your mom and dad love you no matter what, and that, secure in that knowledge, you will free to talk to us. And if you don't feel like you can talk to us, that you will have someone older and wiser to talk to.

Lately, we've been taking lots of walks at the mall because it's so cold outside. When I see a mom and her teenage daughter walking together, I get to excited. I love to picture us walking through the mall together, shopping and having fun. This probably seems like a fairly shallow image, but I really hope we are friends. You might throw a snickers bar at my head one day ( I did it, too) and you might get really mad at me sometimes and you might get really embarrassed by me sometimes, but I do hope that there are also lots of days that you like to hang out with me, that you feel comforted by my presence, that I can say you look beautiful and you'll believe me.

Meredith, while right now you are so incredibly dependent on me, I know it won't always be like that. My prayers is that when the time comes to let you have your independence, that you will walk out secure in your parents' love and God's love and that this will be a guiding force in your life.
I love you now and when you are a teenager with an attitude,
Momma

Linking up with Mama Kat again. I chose prompt #4: A letter to your future teen. Head on over to see some more posts!
 Mama's Losin' It

3 comments:

Bruna said...

Aww, how sweet and well written. Meredith is beautiful:)

Visiting you via Mama Kat's!
Following you too!

Anonymous said...

Meredith is absolutely gorgeous. I love the relationship I have with my mom - though we had tough years. But, now I'm 25 and she's 46, and we spend lots of time together, shopping, and having lunch, and just spending time together.

Adrienne said...

First, I want to hear the snickers story... Second, I love Meredith's new scruntchy face!
Third, this is very tender & hope-filled. You have a wonderful legacy to pass on, and I truly believe that you will!!

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