Dear Daughter

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Dear Peanut

As you are now a teen, you probably want me to stop calling you Peanut. If your anything like I was as a teen, you probably want me to stop calling you anything at all. I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen. I love you to much to stop caring, or to ignore you.

I can attest that these first few years of being a teen suck. Really. I think middle school (7th and 8th grade for me) where the worst. I can only hope you have a better time. If you don't, know that it's not forever. High School was so much better. Not perfect Sweet Valley High better, but better. College? Well after a rough start, that was awesome. Looking back as an adult I can tell you that no matter how much it sucked (or seems to suck now) I know those were all important stepping stones to make me who I am today.

Trust me though, when I was your age I just thought it sucked and it would never end. I thought, and half heartily tried, to actually make it end. That's how bad I thought life was. That's how awful I thought I was. That's how much I didn't know about myself, my life an how could it could be. What I want you to know is that even if you don’t know who you are right now, or who you want to become; your father and I know who you are, and we love you just the way you are.

There are people everywhere that are going to pressure you to change. They will laugh at your choice of clothes. The will scoff at the classes you choose to partake in or tease you for your hobbies. They will nitpick your hair and body and make you feel small. They will make you want to change who you are. If that’s not bad enough your body will seemingly turn on you and start changing on it’s own too. You may feel out of control, I know I did.

I want you to know that you are beautiful. You probably don’t believe it or see it, I didn’t for a very long time. Your body is this amazing vessel that God gave you to do what you need to do, to be who you need to be. I pray nightly that you will not torture your body the way I did trying to make it something it is not. You’re only given one body, one chance, when you beat it down and break it, it’s not easy to repair.

Those others that break you down, make you feel bad, they are already broken. They may look put together on the outside, but on the inside they are broken. In order to feel whole they try to break down others. Don’t let them succeed. You are amazing and you can rise above them.

I know we will fight. I know there will be times when we both say things we really don’t mean in a moment of frustration and anger. I just pray that you know how much I, we, love you. I pray that you will remain the headstrong determined child you are today and not let people break you down. I hope that whatever happens in the future you know that I am always here for you, and that you beautiful and amazing.

Love
Mom


I wrote this mere seconds after opening the email with this weeks writing prompts, clearly it was a prompt I couldn't ignore! You can join in or read others over at Mama Kat's,