My Advice to you Amora

And then I thought; why not do something from the mum’s perspective? (this is for you my dearest sister and now Mama Nono) Dearest Amora, It was only yesterday when you were born, and at the time, I wondered what I had done to deserve such a blessing. An angel had come into my life. Small and delicate with rosy red cheeks and tiny feet and hands. You were beautiful beyond words.Just perfect. As they placed you in my arms, I looked at you properly for the first time. When you opened your eyes and stared back at me, I felt my heart flutter. I had found my treasure; invaluable treasure. Before you even entered the world, you were anticipated, loved, cherished, and wanted. Now that I can hold you in my arms, those feelings have multiplied tenfold. I look at you with complete wonder, melt with each coo you make, and fall deeper in love every time you rest your tiny head on my chest. You are actually ours -our perfect gift from God — a precious life whom He has trusted to our care. With your constant nagging and crying (not that I’m complaining), I’ve had more time to think especially about your world–the world you are going to grow up in. A world that is simultaneously full of unbelievable marvels and astounding horrors. A world that is going to frame your life, the backdrop of all your stories. So, before too much time passes and the world makes its mark, I want to share some of my hopes for you. Though it pulls at my conscious, I refuse to live in fear of this new beginning, but instead, am approaching each day with overflowing thankfulness, each moment with a spirit of love. I’m soaking in the sweetness of lullabies from the rocking chair at 2am and the vision of your daddy holding you in the crook of his strong arm. How you drift to sleep as I walk around the house, reading from random books on the shelf and mumbling some random lullabies so you learn to feel safe with my voice (rockabye baby). I am so excited to teach you wave and hug, to watch you wake up very early on Christmas morning just to put on that new dress your dad got you, to pull a stool up to the counter so we can bake stuff together, to witness you chasing some neighbor’s cat while giggling uncontrollably… but it can all wait. Nonetheless, it is more important to us that you explore, challenge yourself, try new things,and give your best that which you “succeed in” by any score or standard. You must not let a fear of failure or of judgement ever stop you from trying.Audition for that solo just for fun. Volunteer to go first even when you’re not sure of yourself. Try out for the team even if you happen to be the shortest amongst them (thank me for these genes). Life is full of adventures and surprises and bravery is what will allow you to experience them fully. Be brave, little one, for it’s my belief that you were made to do great things. Moreover, great things are not always big. We hope to show you the power of a kind word or simple gesture. Boldness is admirable, but so is gentleness. Many a friendship has grown or life has changed because of something as simple as a hug and not as a result of material stuff which you’ll come to realize that they’re overly overrated (I hope you learn this pretty early).  As of female gender, people will continually tell you to be a lady, to smile, to behave.These are all good things, things I hope you’ll do often— but I also give you permission to cry, to ball your fists, skip down the aisles of stores, tell jokes, and play in the mud.You are allowed to have emotions—they make us human. You don’t have to hide them or fear them— in fact, I’d prefer you to recognize them, come and talk tome about them. I’ve experienced every emotion in the book (I’d like to think so) and would want to help you through yours, too.  It’s okay to be heartbroken,angry, goofy, quiet, and strong willed.You are not obligated to any certain personality type simply because of your gender and the world’s perception of it. Darling, you are beautiful. People told you this from yesterday when you were born. But I hope as you grow, you see beauty as a rounded quality— not just superficial. You were created with purpose and uniqueness— crafted to stand out, not fit in. So be your own kind of beautiful, my darling. Don’t let the world tell you what that looks like. Have confidence, be healthy, be genuine, be kind—this is beauty.  At the moment, you’re so innocent and soft. You are our baby girl. And before you start changing and growing before our very eyes, there are a few things I want you to know. First, I love your daddy with all my heart. He is kind and warm, fiercely loyal, and the most driven man you’ll probably ever meet. On the day you were born, he held my hand and amidst the pain and fear I was experiencing, he made me feel like both the most beautiful and strongest woman in the world. He makes me feel like that every day. He makes me laugh every day. He encourages me to be active and enjoy that piece of cake. We are a team and always will be.. (and so are your grandparents, uncles and aunties…especially R****…nothing personal to Fay and Shilla though) Sweet Pea, one of the things I wish for you the most is this: as you grow and encounter the world, you will see things clearly. My sincerest hope is that you will come to know yourself truly, have compassion for those around you, and understand that all of us are the same. People are just people. No matter where they are from,what language they speak, how much or how little they have, or what they eat for breakfast. All of us are human. We are all dignified creations, and at the same time, we are all broken creatures. While hate is a dividing force, love has the power to bind us together and heal all wounds. My Darling Girl, I want you to know that this world is truly incredible. From man-made super-structures in Dubai to the majestic natural beauty in Africa, there is much to marvel at on this planet we call home.  From the large water masses, to the huge mountains. From the wild exotic animals, to the waterfalls etcetera. I hope that you will taste the multitude of flavors that enrich our humanity. I hope that you travel the world, sparked by a fire of curiosity and boldness. I hope that you will share in my thirst for exploration and discovery and that you will be unafraid to step out into the unknown. Oh, Little One, I hope that you will be bold and courageous, that you will be kind and full of joy, and that you will be willing to set aside your differences in order to bring peace to all you come to know. Nonetheless, it is true that the world is not all sunshine and rainbows and that evil does reside within our midst. Tragedies are a part of life; Cancer takes loved ones; terrorism strikes at unexpected times; relationships break and may never be repaired on this side of heaven. But if you see things clearly, you can have hope . And I really hope you do. And in your hope, I pray that you have faith. Faith that there is more to this world than meets the eye. Faith of an existence of a God, the creator of the universe. I hope you come to love books. The best get way to knowledge. Read. After all, I just want you to see the world clearly. Yours Truly, Mom