Today and every day I am so very thankful for the person that you are. Thank you for your love, persistence, fighting spirit, and fun nature! Thank you for fighting me when I began to fall into the conventional method of parenting with too many illogical "no's." Thank you for being persistent in your fight, I fear that if you had not fought I would have turned into a "no" mother instead of being transformed into a "yes" mom. Thank you for teaching me to question myself before telling you no, I have learned that so many no's are so unnecessary! Thank you for teaching me to slow down and have fun! Thank you SO much for teaching me that life is not about having a clean house, looking good all the time, or having children who are "seen and not heard." Thank you for teaching me that life is about making messes that are totally worth the clean up, being loud, and enjoying this moment. Thank you for teaching me to trust you, thank you for showing me that you know your limitations better than I ever possibly could! Thank you for teaching me that the sound of children is the sweetest, most amazing beautiful sound and the traditional "seen and not heard" approach to parenting creates miserable children and parents who miss the entire point of living. Thank you for fighting me so hard that I was nearly at my breaking point as a mother and forcing me to look into other options as a parent. Had you not been such a fighter I would have never looked. I love everything about who you are, at a year old you are already so much wiser than I or most people that I know. I pray that I only encourage your growth and never stifle it like so many in our current society do. I know you will grow to be everything you want to be, but I have a few little tips. Never lose sight of the kind of person you want to be. Don't get so caught up in the daily drone that you forget to stop and have fun! Always remember that it is NEVER too late to start being the kind of person you want to be. True happiness spreads like wildfire so if you are unhappy it usually only takes one small change to start the cascade of changes into a joyful life. Thank you so much for being the amazing person that you are, I am so lucky that you have chosen me to be your mother...for that I will be eternally grateful. I love you so much.
