Love Letter

My Beautiful Baby Boy,

Oh my good Lord. How is it even possible that you are 18 today?! How did the last 18 years just fly by in the blink of an eye?

You, my sweet boy, are the single greatest thing that has EVER happened to me. I never knew what true love was until you came along. I didn’t know my heart could hold that much love.

Raising you has been the most important job I’ve ever had. Most of the time, I feel like I’m doing a piss-poor job. But then, I remind myself that you are your own person, with your own thoughts and opinions, and your own very strong will. That’s what makes you the awesome person you are. And, I love that person.

I know these past few weeks have a been a rollercoaster of emotion for you. They have been for Daddy and me, too. But, we’ll get through this, as a family, and we’ll all come out stronger for it. I can only imagine how you’ve been feeling about yourself, but there are some things I want you to remember. YOU are a good person. You are funny, kind, generous, compassionate, witty, helpful, and so many other wonderful things. Don’t even get me started on how smart you are. You have no idea how strange it is raising a child who is smarter than you. And, I mean light years smarter!

Everyone makes mistakes. We all make poor choices from time to time. The key is to learn from those mistakes. It’s these life lessons that form us into the people we become. Please hold on to these lessons and learn from them. Do NOT let your mistakes define you. Learn from them and move on.

I see so much greatness in your future, my love. So much. I know right now you must feel scared, lost, confused, sad, angry, etc. But, believe me, you will come through this. Your future is yours to decide. I’m confident that you will make better and better choices as time goes on, and you’ll continue to learn from those “not so great” choices, too.

It breaks my heart that you had to learn such a harsh life lesson at such a young age. However, I know you’ll learn from it. Just, please, don’t forget what you’ve learned. Keep it in the forefront of your mind. Let it help guide your future choices.

I want you to know how very, very much I love you and adore you. Yeah, yeah, I know I tell you all the time, but I can’t help it. Sometimes I think my heart is going to burst from the love I feel for you.

Happy Birthday, my sweet darling. You are my joy, and I love you more than you’ll ever know.

Love,

Mommy