My dear daughter, I hope that you will always be you.

The you that freely loves with all your heart, not caring whether the object of your affection is worthy or not.

You are not selfish with your hugs, kisses and words, and share them with anyone you come into contact with. You never care about how someone looks when deciding whether to play with them. May the ability to love unconditionally be a mark of your maturity and not naivete (as some may naively think).

I hope that you will always be you.

The you that views every seemingly insurmountable height as an opportunity. That as the twirly slides of the playground morph into the slide of life and all its curve balls and highs and lows, you will face it and ride it with all the gusto and fearlessness you have, every time you go down a slide that seemed too high for you (and enjoyed it too!).

I hope that you will always be you.

The you that is always willing to try something new. A new flavour? A new playground? A new park? Yay, let’s go! You don’t equate new with fear. To you, new means fun, and an opportunity to discover more of the world and of life.

May you say yes to every opportunity life presents, without the fear of the unknown ever holding you back.

I hope that you will always be you.

The you that wakes up every day with a smile filled with the promise of a new day. You jump out of bed with zest, ready for anything that comes your way.

You never use yesterday as a measure for what today will hold. Never mind that yesterday was a bad day – today is all that matters. Another chance to experience all the best that life has to offer.

I hope that you will always be you.

The you that is so quick to forgive and forget. I know that I have not always been the perfect parent and that some kids at the playground have not been the nicest. Yet you wallow in your hurt only for a minute, fully feeling it, but you never let your temporary sorrow rob you of the joy that is available in the next moment.

Life will have many hurts and hurtful people. May you always choose to let the pain go, so that the sadness never steals you of your joy.

I hope that you will always be you.

The you that knows you’re never alone. You love being around people and you never stay alone for too long, always reaching out to someone.

May you never get used to being alone. Always know that someone who loves you is always ever only a phone call away.

And when the world tries to shape you in its image, with its fear, uncertainty, hate , bitterness, storms and uncaring, may you choose always to be you. The loving, brave, joyful, forgiving and loved you.

Abigail Dawes is a Legal Counsel and a mother of a one-year-old daughter. She enjoys reading, crafting and any moment spent with her family.

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