Pages

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

You Are Perfect To Me

When Lily was born, I looked into her baby blue eyes and knew that she was the most beautiful baby ever. She was perfect. Her skin was so soft, her toes so tiny. Weighing in at just over six and a half pounds- she took my breath away. I stared at her for hours- half out of amazement and half out of pure exhaustion.
        
Oh, pretty pretty please, don't you ever ever feel
Like you're less than, less than perfect
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel like you're nothing
You are perfect to me

When I look at her today I still see an amazingly beautiful and smart little girl. Someone that I just can't get enough hugs or kisses from. Except now her tiny toes are a little bigger- and sometimes the toenails are painted. Her hair is long and usually messy. She has these beautiful fingernails that I only wish were mine. I still want to just eat her up. She continues to be perfect in my eyes.

 'cause we are beautiful no matter what they say
Yes, words won't bring us down, oh no
We are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring us down
Don't you bring me down today

And I tell her that. I tell her that she is lovely. She is wonderful, smart, amazing and unique too. I show her that I care about her, snuggle her and allow her to be who she wants to be- whether in dressing herself or her opinions- she is valued and loved for being exactly who she is. I am trying to teach her to trust herself, have confidence in herself and to have reasonable expectations. I try to remind myself to trust her, build her confidence through that trust and let go and to be there when she fails.

When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
 
All of this I don't consider amazing or out of the ordinary in any way. Of course I think my girl is the most beautiful! Of course I let her be who she is! Why would I want it any other way?


My heart breaks for each child out there who is suffering- and for all those who have suffered- because they are a girl instead of a boy...or not popular, pretty, smart or good enough for those who are supposed to be lifting them up and not tearing them down. I feel guilt for not being able to help more than a small handful in my lifetime- though I know it makes a difference to those I have.  

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

All I can say is...Moms...please. Love your daughters. Just love them. Dads too.  Love them for who they are and who they just might become if we give them our all as their parents. Look beyond yourself, look beyond the moment.

And when you think you can't take even one more second... just love.

All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.





P.S. Read this post and this post by Dan Pierce at Single Dad Laughing

Songs in order: Pink "F'in Perfect", Christina Aguilera "Beautiful", Katy Perry "Firework", The Beatles "All you need is Love"

1 comment:

  1. It is so hard to see a child grow up being loved conditionally. It must be better than growing up completely unloved, but by how much?
    So many times people become parents without ever realizing that to be good parents, their lives will NEVER be the same again. Life is not about "me" anymore. Did no one explain this to them, or are they simply following the crappy example set by their own parents??

    One of things about you, Sarah, that drives me crazy is that you refuse to ever put yourself first. And yet that same fact is THE reason you are such an amazing mom. And I can deal with you always taking second fiddle to that beautiful girl, because being the best parent you can be is the ONLY way to actually be a parent. If you didn't put her first before everything, how could I respect you? And without respect, a friendship futile.
    Please people, love your children for themselves, EXACTLY as they are. What YOU think they ought to be doesn't matter. If you think you already do love and accept your child for exactly how they are right now, then you are the one who needs to re-evaluate your priorities.

    ReplyDelete