To my future child(ren),

I hope that I am able to give you the life that you deserve. A life that is wonderful, fun and full of love no matter what. A life where you know that I did my absolute best. I want to have a mother/child bond where you can come to me no matter what and not be afraid to talk about or tell me anything. I want you to know that I will be one of, if not, your biggest supporter. Please remember that while I am your friend, I am also your parent. I know that we will not always see eye to eye and that you will think "she's never been in a situation like this before" but please believe me when I say "I've been there before" and don't just tune me out when I try to give advice for a certain situation. I know there will be times when I might not have an answer about something for you, but know that I will try to help you through it to the best of my ability.

I hope that you never have to feel and see as much loss as I have, however, if you do, know that I will be there right beside you to help you through it. I hope that you make a lot of friends but also have those few that you can be super close and open with because everyone needs those kinds of friends. I hope you know that I will protect you with the best of my ability but that I'm also going to be real and discuss anything and everything about the world with you. I apologize for all the things that I can't and won't be able to keep from hurting you, but know that I will always be there to pick up the pieces.

When the time comes for you to move on and start your new life, I hope that I will be the first person you call when you need parenting advice. I hope that you take everything I taught/instilled in you and helped you through into account when you are raising your own children so that you can be open and real with them like I was with you. I hope that, even though I might not have been perfect, you realized I tried, that you had a great childhood, and even though we didn't always see eye to eye, that you want to give your children that same type of childhood.

Remember I love you always, no matter what. I just want the best for you. We are going to have ups and downs in our relationship, hopefully more ups than downs, but understand that every family has those. Know that I did everything I could to take care of you. I hope that you hold our traditions near to your heart and get the chance to pass them down to your children. I hope that when you look back on your childhood you aren't ashamed of anything and that you are able to see everything I did that helped shape you into who you are- a wonderful, loving, caring, nurturing mother/father.

I love you and always will,

Mom