A Love Letter to my Daughters

A love letter to my daughters

There’s a pain in my chest that’s stopping me breathing

The winds raged, the rain lashed, and the thunder roared. So did I, until I was quiet and still and the only voice I could hear was her father’s. My eldest was born with nature screaming her arrival, and the Full Moon kissing her brow.

Is she OK? She’s so quiet!

Years later, as the Moon stepped into her darkness, my second daughter and I battled and fought to meet in safety, far too soon. The pain turned me inside out, until the doctors stepped in and her birth became a wound.

No! No! It was not meant to be this way!

Then she was with us, and all was well. She was taken upstairs and left us bereft, as she healed on the top floor and I wept on the ward below. It was weeks until we were properly reunited, father, mother, sister and tiny babe.

Dusty shoes. I always remember my dusty shoes.

We walked into our futures together, we all grew as one. They thrived, and I taught them how to draw when they were sad, and dance when they were happy. We laughed and played and cried together. I read stories and taught them about Kings and Queens. We relished time in nature and were awed by her wonder and beauty. I hoped, I hope, that I taught them enough.

The World is a beautiful place. Treat her well.

We heard the voices around us, so happy to criticize and rare to support, but decided to listen to each other instead. When the time was right by them, they left the home and went to college to follow their passions. There they learnt about music and drama. They experienced wasted time and energies challenged. They emerged with heads and scores held high.

You go girl!

And now our eldest is finishing her masters. The love of music took her North, sending her to her bandmates, to follow her dreams. Talent and confidence have been with her from the beginning. The roar of nature that announced her arrival, is now repeated from within her as she screams her own announcement, loud and proud.

Never be silenced. Take up space. Be proud of who you are and what you have to say.

Our youngest leaves this weekend. Under the darkness of the Moon that greeted her, she steps into her new life, and we two step into ours. She is sensitive, determined and ready. She will display her empathy, and creativity for all,  as she weaves that darkness into spellbinding tales for us to experience through her, new realities for us to enjoy.

Be strong. Be safe. You’ve got this.

So this is a love letter to my daughters. I am so proud of you both. Thank you for making me the person you made me. I am so grateful that you were born to me, and to us. Thank you thank you thank you. Go forth and be the people you want to be, deserve to be. Never be silenced. Never play small. Never minimise your feelings for those of others, for yours are as important as theirs. Shine bright, for you are the most amazing women I have ever met. I love you.

My face is wet.