Dear
Raegan,
I cannot
believe this day has come —you’re now five years old! How is it possible
that time has gone so quickly? Everyone says that, but it’s so true. My
life before you and your brother—is now incomprehensible.
I want
to tell you that I’m insanely proud of you. You’re so independent, you try hard
to do things on your own now, you clean up after yourself sometimes, but you
never shy from cleaning up behind your big brother. I know he’s proud of you,
too. He really loves that you try to
keep him out of trouble when you can.
I love
seeing the world through your eyes knowing how innocent and sweet it is. I pray
that you’ll always be able to see the good like that, even when you learn about
how things really can be out there in the real world. Your sensitivity and
compassion will take you far in this life, no matter which path you take. Never
lose that.
I love
the way you look at me like I’m one of your favorite people on the planet. I
know you think that I hung the moon. It is my hope that I can still be someone
you’re proud of, someone that makes you happy, someone that you’ll still want
to share everything with when you realize that I’m NOT perfect. That day
will certainly come. (I just hope not too soon!)
Even
though I’m far from perfect and I’m still working on a few of these myself,
there are a few words of advice that I have for you now that you’re a
big girl. These might seem silly now or might not make full sense, but they
will apply in your life, always and forever.
You
cannot ever, ever lose faith. Faith in humanity, faith in yourself, faith in God that He
will always light up the right path for you if you let Him. I’ve crossed over
to the dark side and told God “I give up” a couple of times in my life. It was
not a place in my life that I’m proud of, but you know what? It got me nowhere
fast and as soon as I let Him guide me again, He took me in like I’d never
left. As a matter of fact, He gave me two of my greatest gifts in life once I
trusted Him: You and your brother.
You
cannot ever give up on your dreams. You might think the impossible, but you never know what
you’re capable of until you try. Try out for the team….enter the contest….apply
for that college if that’s what you want, and do it again
when you fail. Because YOU WILL fail, but you have to be ready to jump back up
and leap again.
You
don’t get anywhere in life by sitting still. You have to take the plunge and
see what happens. The worst that can happen is that you go back to the drawing
board and try it again or try something else. Don’t lose sight of the big
picture. Dream big and if you work hard, you will get there. Just remember that
nothing will get handed to you—you do actually have to work hard for it. Daddy
and I love you too much to do the work for you.
NEVER
say you aren’t good enough. You are good enough. As a matter of fact, you’re better than
good. You’re the only you there is and God created you perfectly to be exactly
who you are. No one can be like you, so don’t be like them…..Be like you!
You’re always smart enough and pretty enough. Tests at school can’t measure
every bit of your IQ in the same way that a mirror cannot measure every ounce
of your beauty. You are perfect, and you do not have to prove that to anyone,
except yourself.
Always
be you, the true you. Learn this now, because as we get older we get harder on
ourselves. I’ve said things about myself in front of you that I’m not proud of.
I vow to work on changing that. You can’t just say words, you have to mean them….so
I’m working on loving myself more, because loving myself more means I’m
loving you more. When you take that pressure away of caring
about what other people think, then you’ll feel free. You’ll go places and you
will see what you’re really capable of. You are capable of anything and everything.
Never
say never. If you do
say never, you are closing doors in your life. You want to see them open
everywhere, especially when you’re young. You want to always be able to see new
opportunities and be thoughtful about what you could do or where you can go.
Always be open-minded. You’ll never regret looking back knowing that
you’ve given it a chance.
When
you’re five, the sky’s the limit. You have big dreams. You believe you’re as
beautiful as mommy says you are. My job is to make sure that you hold onto
that, always and forever.
I love being your Mommy and I thank God every
night for hand-picking me to have the honor of loving you. My big 5-year-old, Raegan
Michelle, I love you more than you’ll ever comprehend! Happy Birthday!!
Love you bunches!
Mommy
