dear dani—
you don’t know it yet but we are going to become great friends. You will be written in to my poetry, imbedded in to my songs, sewn in to my book that I will one day write. There will be many road trips, family parties, cities we will move to, couches and beds and floors we will sleep on, meals we will share, songs we will sing, many drunken nights (you drunk me reeling you in), many talks about the future and how we have it all figured out. We will see each other through great loss and joyous accomplishments. Heartbreak and disappointment. New days and forgiveness. Through the years we will give each other something to look forward to. You will earn the pen name in my prose ‘Loyal’.
And then the day will arrive, the beginning of the second act of our lives, where we will bear our children and serve the future far greater than what our young minds could have imagined. And through the realities of motherhood we will discover what we are truly made of.
And along the way you will meet a man, and much like me, you won’t know it yet—he will become your husband, the father of your child. He will disprove all of your former assumptions of men, carry you and cherish you as your father Jim has. Have the patience of your mother Tonya and will allow you your space. He’ll take your crazy, honor your beauty, applaud your strength, celebrate your story before him and provide an outline for your story with him. He will become a witness and hold the narrative for the rest of your life.
So dani girl, don’t you sweat these curveballs- it is just life after all. A culmination of tears and laughter. A pendulum worth experiencing. It’s all worth it. No matter the depth of the sorrow or the of height of the happiness-- you will be looked after and safe surrounded by the company of family and friends that contributed to defining you and you will be delivered to the man and the child that will refine you.
My life will have been made greater because you exist.
And one day, one awesome, perfect, brilliant day—I will be in awe in knowing that you have found your place in this world, in knowing that my beautiful friend is in the most capable hands of this man named Gilbert and their daughter Taylor Rose.
Love,
Me
