DEAR HELEN
For my daughter
YOU ARE RESILIENT, YOU ARE STRONG
Dear Helen,
If you learn anything from the last five months of quarantine (that dreadful word we speak of everyday,) it is that you and your peers will be the strongest ones to come out of this pandemic. See, there is always, and I truly mean always, a silver lining to every situation.
In the blink of an eye, your spring break never ended. You were concerned for the other students on your hall, and emailed them immediately.
Your SAT was cancelled 24 hours before you were scheduled to take it. You knew that there would be a solution down the road.
Spring semester went online. You got yourself up every day as if it were a 'normal' school day. You and the teachers nailed it!
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You didn't know when you were going to get your things from your dorm. You rolled with it week after week, delay after delay.
You turned 17! You celebrated with your cats, dogs, and parents, and didn't complain once.
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Every obstacle that has been thrown at you, you didn't skip a beat, and you found solutions.
You have watched others around you fall apart, and you are there to lift them up.
You have witnessed changes in people over the last few months, and not for the better, yet you have not let that change who you are as a person.
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You are heading back to join your boarding school community in a few days. You are prepared, you are strong, you are resilient, you are a leader, you make me proud.
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You never let anyone or anything stand in the way of doing what is right, what is honest, and what is fair. You continue to stand up for others, you have compassion, and empathy.
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Whatever the landscape looks like over the next few months, I have no doubt that you will navigate that terrain with confidence, determination, and socks that don't match.
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I love you my sweet daughter. You are my inspiration every day!
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XOXO MOM
I AM ALWAYS WITH YOU
Be brave, have courage, and love life.
Dear Helen,
Quiet time together is something I miss more than anything. When you left for boarding school, I knew I would miss you immensely. What I ached for deep down, the one thing that I treasured for nine years. The one thing that nobody else could be a part of, was our morning rides to school They could have been long and boring, they could have been silent and cold, they could have been lots of things. However, they were the highlight of my day! There was so much to see and talk about together. You were always engaged, and bright eyed. We talked about life! Life at age four through life at age 14! Your energy in the morning was uplifting, and we never ran out of topics.
We had some interesting 'characters' along our way. I loved our ducks, Gussy & Gertie. We looked forward to seeing them each and every morning for over a year. When they disappeared, and the 'front honker' appeared, we giggled and laughed for the 40 minute ride to school. As you got older, the conversations took on a new meaning for me. I called these rides into school, "Mom's Words of Wisdom Rides." I wanted to let you know the recipe for life. I wanted you to know that you were destined for greatness, I wanted you to know that strength isn't always being strong enough to lift things up, but it is being strong enough to lift yourself up.
Life will throw a lot of boulders in your path. When you think that you have seen the largest of those boulders......do not kid yourself. There is another boulder around the corner, and it will be bigger than the last. Those pebbles, you just can kick them to the side and carry on. Those boulders, those are the ones that I want to prepare you for in life.
So when you packed the car for boarding school, I panicked! Who was going to give you 'Words of Wisdom?' Oh my, I sighed, I cried, and I might have had an anxiety attack. Then I took a deep breathe. That was it! This was my boulder. What did I tell you about boulders my love? It is up to you to figure out how to get around the boulder. Will you climb over it, walk around it, dig under it? Every once in awhile, there is someone unexpected on top, throwing you a line, But that is a story for another day. I digress! Back to my boulder. I just had to wrap my head around letting you go off on your own at 14! FOURTEEN!!! Then I remembered who I was thinking about. You had this journey tied up in a neat little bow. If there was anyone that I could have faith to embark on this journey, it would be you.
You were BRAVE to fill out the application, you had the COURAGE to move 10 hours away by car, and you LOVE LIFE enough to jump in with both feet (and those mismatched socks!) Who does that? A girl that comes from a very long line of strong women. Women who look at fear, and say "I am not letting fear get in the way of what is right for me." So there you are, BRAVE, COURAGEOUS, and LOVING LIFE. But sometimes life can feel lonely. That my dear is only a pebble. Kick it away, and know this ... I AM ALWAYS WITH YOU.
I love you my sweet daughter. You are my inspiration every day!
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XOXO MOM