WONDEROAK

Dear Kids,

Your eyes were strained and wet with tears that you quickly blinked away. You cleared your throat and pretended to be okay. You were not okay. I knew it and you knew it, but I’d already asked you so I didn’t press. The weight of the world seemed to be on your eleven-year-old shoulders and my Mama heart broke at my inability to fix it. I wished I could make it disappear. You were stressed about a test, stressed about a homework assignment, stressed about stress.

My love, listen to me: you are enough. Every day you are enough. If you bomb that test, if you never complete that assignment, if you fail at every little thing, you are enough. Even if you make a mistake that’s so big it seems like it might swallow you whole; you are enough.

You always are no-matter-what enough.

When you screw up your position in a very important game and your coach yells to get it together…you are enough. You are always always enough.

When you fight with your siblings even though I’ve said STOP a thousand times, and am not masking my frustration; you are enough. Every single day you are enough.

On the days you wake up in a mood and you can’t seem to rise above it, you are enough.

When everything goes wrong: you’re late to school, your friends are mad at you, your teacher snaps, and lunch is an unidentifiable casserole…you are enough.

We are all just doing our best, my love. We all make mistakes, we all fail, we all disappoint ourselves and others.

The other day I snapped at you about something. I shouldn’t have snapped, but I did. I saw you wilt before my eyes and I wished I could snatch my words out of the air and put them back. I apologized and prayed silently that you’d always know the truth.

The idea that I’d ever make you feel like you weren’t enough kills me.

The truth is: you ARE enough even when I don’t do a good job of showing you.

You could grow up and accomplish every single dream or you could fall short and change plans. No matter what, you are enough. Sometimes I’ve found the most beautiful things in the places I least expected it.

You could graduate with honors or you could barely squeak by.

You could be popular or the odd one out.

You could dominate in sports or you could get cut from the team.

You could get rave reviews at your parent teacher conferences or lots and lots of “room for improvement.”

You could be an astronaut or a stay at home parent.

Whatever you do, hear this:

You are enough. Forever and for always and no-matter-what you are enough.

If I thought you would hear me better I would shout it from the roof tops and I would choreograph a flash mob just to tell you:

YOU ARE ENOUGH, MY LOVE.

ENOUGH.

ENOUGH.

ENOUGH.

Know it and breathe it in as deep as you can. The world will try and steal that truth, but you must hold on to it with all your strength.

Love forever and for always,

Mama

***

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For every 20 shirts sold, one shirt will be sent to someone in need of some sisterly support (this is done via nomination on Facebook and Instagram).

Sister, I am with you is a message of solidarity between moms and women. It says I AM FOR you no matter what.

I don’t care if your house looks like the bottom of a cereal box. I don’t care if you’re makeup is fresh or three days old. I don’t care if you smile a lot, cry a lot, or yell a lot. I don’t care if you breastfeed or bottle feed, or if you like a glass of whiskey at the end of a long day. I don’t care if motherhood fits you like a glove or like a too-tight pair of pants that ride up the nether regions. I don’t care if you house smells like lavender or dirty diapers. I don’t care if you stay at home or have a full-time job. I don’t care if you’re keto or paleo or eat a lot of frozen pizza and carrot sticks.

I AM FOR YOU. Sister, I am with you.

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