Dear Kids,

You.  You are the only you there is.  And you are wonderful.  You are enough.  Your strengths and your struggles are just what they should be.  This is true of everyone – each person is beautifully and wonderfully made.

Be a student of who God created when he made you.

Knowing yourself is one of the secrets of happiness.  Knowing who you are allows you to spend your time, energy and money on the best things for you, not the things that advertisers and ‘influencers’ tell you to like.   It helps you to develop friendships with people who are great matches rather than following a crowd or tagging along with folks who don’t get you or love you.  Understanding yourself is essential to the big decisions in life – what you should study in college, what work you should do, and who you should spend your life with.  If you don’t know yourself, you will get carried along in life by things that are just fine – but you might find over time that you’re off course.

And so here’s the last thing on self – knowledge.  You will change and grow.  And you will choose people and things in your life that you later think  weren’t the right call or fit.  No one gets everything right in their choices.  And – there isn’t ONE right ANYTHING for ANYONE.  We are thoughtful and make the best choices we can.  Don’t fall into the trap of second-guessing and thinking you need to find ‘perfect.’

There are some choices that can be changed and some that can’t.  Keep your commitments and promises — and especially your vows.  Know that there are ups and downs, and good and bad, in every choice we make.  Change the choices that are changeable when you need to, but dig into your commitments and promises and see them through.  Do the work to make them work and enjoy learning from them – you will learn more about yourself and you will grow most when you are working through a challenge.

I love each of you.  I love the way I can see in your 12, 11 and 6 year-old selves footprints of who you were in the womb and the day you entered the world.  You are really incredible people and it’s the best thing in me and dad’s lives to know you and raise you.

Love, love, love,

Mom