Dear Mama,
I see your eyes; barely open as you rock me to sleep.
I hear your heartbeat; my first lullaby, still comforting now.
I feel your arms; cradled around me, warm and safe.
I feel my body melt into your soft belly, my first home.
I smell your scent; the one unique to you alone, and I sigh…
You see, mama, you are everything I need.
You give me warmth when I am cold.
You sing when I cry.
You hold me close when I am scared.
You give me food when I am hungry.
My clothes are cleaned when dirty.
My bed is warm and safe.
What I need most, is you, mama.
I need you now, as I needed you before I was born. Whether you carried me for 9 months, or waited for me diligently while I was carried by another–I felt your love.
Love that told me, “You are wanted”.
Love that nurtured me as I grew and prepared to meet the world.
This world that is big and new. Wide, and at times, scary.
You are my comfort, mama.
And I hope, mama, that you are comforted by this: There is nothing more that I need from you than to be loved.
No stroller, car seat, milk, formula, clothing, bouncer, toys or bed match what your love can give me.
You may be tired, exhausted, even. Your hair may be in a 3-day old braid, your clothes stained with spit-up. You may think, “Oh, what a mess I am.“
But I see your love.
Love reflected in the time spent where I learn how to communicate my needs, and you try to decipher my cries.
Where you ‘shhhh’ and swing, swaddle and sing me to sleep.
Where we rock, late in the night, my head on your chest.
You are everything I need, mama.
And everything that you do is love.
Always, Your Baby