Dear Mother,

Have you heard of The Mother Letter Project? It’s just the sweetest thing. You can click on the link to learn more. In a nutshell, a sweet man out there is collecting letters for his wife. To join in, you’re simply asked to write a letter titled, Dear Mother. And then either give advice or encouragement of some kind and email him the letter. Then this lovely husband will compile them all (A LOT) in a book for his wife for Christmas. Doesn’t THAT rock the husband party? I encourage you to go read more about what this family is doing this Christmas rather than buying material gifts, it’s inspiring.

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Dear Mother,

You’re perfect.

It’s not that you don’t have faults, you do. You should know that, since you seem a bit focused on those faults.

But you’re absolutely the perfect fit for your children.

You have flaws of course, but they’re all covered up with the goodness of you–your intentions, and the depth that is in you, pounding to the beat of your children’s hearts.

In the middle of the daily grind, it’s hard to catch your breath. The fatigue catches up with you at times, pulling you away from the person you’ve been striving to become. But your kids? They’ll forgive it all in a moment, when you take the time to apologize and start again. Their love is unconditional.

Isn’t it amazing how we’re given children to teach us exactly what that love looks like?

It’s a relief to know it goes both ways. We mothers would forgive a million mistakes our children make. It seems we should learn to forgive ourselves for our own.

You never dreamed you could feel such a range of emotions in just one day. But here you are, completely crazy in love with your kids, while wanting to run away screaming in the midst of tantrums, stubborn arguments, and messes. The clash of such opposite emotions is so confusing. Then comes the guilt, the kind you can’t escape no matter how hard you try, leaving you to feel you’ve failed to do any of the things you intended to do well. Try to fight that guilt. Stop yourself when you hear the negative voices. The good things you’re doing are there, a thousand actions big and small. They are your unique ways of showing your love. Look at them. Think on them.

Don’t forget that all the stages pass in a moment, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time. You’ll hardly be able to remember that piercing cry, the toddler time outs, the rat race and the chaos. That will all fly away like a feather on a breeze, catching up with the newborn baby smell and the pudgy little fingers.

So hang in there. You’re doing a beautiful job, whether you know it in every moment or not.

You’re a mother. You don’t have to be the kind of perfect Mother you try so hard to be. You’re already just the right Mom, just as you are.

Even when you make those mistakes you so despise, please remember, your children need you to believe in your goodness, so they can one day believe in their own.

You Rock,
Heather