Mi muñequita,
You are the smell of dew on a cool spring morning, the crispness of air when the first snow falls. You are as beautiful and intricate and one-of-a-kind as every snowflake on every mountain in every winter that has ever passed. You are great-grandma’s pancakes and sprinkles on cupcakes and warm honey drizzled in Moroccan mint tea.
Your hair is like onyx, your heart is like gold. You are worth more than all the riches in all the castles in every fairytale ever told.
Your laugh is like summer, your smile is the sun. Your giggle is the puzzle piece that completed my heart. You are sweet potato pie and candied yams, grandma’s fudge and banana pudding.
You prance around like dandelions, dancing in the wind. You are every song in every dream. You are every wish upon every star. You are the sea in my toes and the sun on my face.
You are hot cocoa with marshmallows on cold winter nights. You’re fireplaces and Christmas wreaths, and gingerbread men. You are the closest thing to home I’ve ever known. You are the closest thing to God that I’ve ever seen.
Your little fingers leave me in awe. Your hands were made to create… Beautiful watercolor paintings and culinary masterpieces. They were made to strum a guitar and stroke ivory keys. They were made to comfort the sick and give to the poor. They were made with grace and compassion and care. They will write best sellers and pen chart toppers. They will make a difference in this world beyond my limited imagination.
Your ten little fingers and ten little toes will one day grow to match the hands that now hold you. Your ten little piggies will one day grow to march across stages and stand in front of boardrooms. They will travel the world and step out on faith. Your perfect giggle will one day grow to be the voice that inspires a generation. Your precious little body will one day begin to curve like the most beautiful piece of pottery – smooth and soft and perfectly crafted.
That body is yours, my love – Yours to treasure and yours to keep. It is yours to love and yours to cherish, and yours to care for. It is yours to protect.
One day you will meet a man. Promise me that you will make him win your heart, your mind, your love, before he has the privilege of embracing your body. Let his actions prove his love for your soul. Always remember that a man who loves you is a man who protects and respects you. And the greatest virtue of a man is found in his humility.
There will be those who are entranced by your beauty and lost for words by your voice. Do not give them your heart simply because they ask for it. Do not fall for flowery language and empty declarations of love, my dear. For they will see you and their hearts will skip a beat. They will say they love you. Let them show you. Please remember that not everyone who desires you truly values you. You come from a long line of strong women. Do not make yourself smaller just to appease other people. Let your light shine. Work on becoming the best woman you can be. Find a man who looks at you the way Daddy looks at me.
Someday that body may house another just like you, the same way that I have housed you. One day you will look into big curious eyes, the way I look into yours. You’ll want to protect her and hold her, comfort her and be her shield. You’ll want to keep her from all the evils of the world. You will find the best day of your life is the day she comes into it; The worst is the day you have to let her fly free.
Your heart, my love, is the most precious part of you. It will love with a love so deep and so broad, even the stars in sky won’t compete with its power. Your little heart will love with a love so big, it’s a wonder it can even fit in your chest. Your heart was made to change this world. Do not let anyone or anything convince you that you are not enough. You are more than enough.
Please don’t lose your sense of wonder my love. Remember the dreams you have as a child. They are dreams God placed in your heart for a reason. With God all things are possible. Faith and hard work are the recipe for your life. Trust Him in all that you do. He knows far more than Daddy or I ever will.
My beautiful precious girl. Flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone. You are my greatest creation, my most perfect masterpiece, the most beautiful work of art, my most treasured accomplishment, my greatest blessing. You were born in my heart long before you were born to the world.
I will love you til the end of time. And when the clock has ticked its final tock, I will search for the end of the end. I will find it and I will stretch it out one more day, just to love you more.
My darling, my heart, my girl.
I love you more than love.
Te adoro mi amor,
Mama
Letters From My Father; Lessons From My Mother 