To Maggie, at the End of Kindergarten

My sweet Maggie! I remember the first time I really got to hold you and look at you. You were about two hours old because you had to be taken to the NICU when you were born. Daddy and I were waiting on you in our hospital room, and the nurse brought you in and handed you to me. You looked at me with your beautiful little eyes (just like Daddy’s), and I was in love. I will never be the same.

I can’t believe it’s been 6 ½ years, and you’re graduating from kindergarten! You’re such a beautiful girl, inside and out. So smart and kind and talented and funny. So many things about you I love, but my favorite is your sweet spirit. I love that you are kind to your friends and your brother (most of the time). I love that you put others before yourself. I love that you give me one extra hug every day when I drop you off for school. You’ll never know how much I love that! I love that you’ll still hold my hand. I hope you’ll always hold my hand.

When you were a baby, I used to just rock you and wonder what you would be like as a child. What your voice would sound like, whether you’d like to read like your Daddy (you do!), whether you’d like music like your mommy (you do!), what kinds of things you’d be into. Right now, you like all things art, dolphins and horses, writing songs, and Harry Potter (which  Daddy and I are very sorry about but we know will pass!).

On the way home from school last week, you talked a lot about Jesus and asked if you could pray the prayer to have him come into your heart. You won’t understand this for a long time, but Mommy came inside and just cried because it made me so happy. You’ll have wonderful days in life, and you’ll have hard days when you want to bury your head in a hole, which breaks my heart. But you’ll always have Jesus, and he’ll never leave your side. If you never learn anything else from Mama and Daddy, I want you to learn that. I love to hear you talk about Jesus and how much he loves you, and how much you love him. My prayer is that your relationship with him will grow, that you'll be a disciple that leads many others to him, and that Daddy and I will do our very best to help you.

Six years have flown by so fast. In six more, you’ll nearly be a teenager. In six more, you’ll be graduating from high school. I wish I could slow down time. I wish I could keep you just the way you are right now. But God has big plans for you, I KNOW it, and I can’t keep you little forever!

I hope one day, when you’re “grown” (ha) and think you know everything and you’re smarter than your mama (which I’m sure you will be), you’ll read this and know how much I love you. So much it hurts. So much I’m having to dry off the keyboard while I type this! But for now, I’ll just give you a hug and tell you how proud I am of you and how I'm glad God gave you to us just exactly the way you are. I love you!

Love,
Mommy