She’s got this little round belly and this confidence that just goes on forever. She sings at the top of her lungs and dances with complete abandon. Watch me! Look at this! I made this song for you! She is all that is beautiful and if you ask her if she is smart she will yell, “YES!” and then tell you all she knows, and some things she doesn’t. She knows she is funny and isn’t afraid to tell a joke, and even if no one else gets it, she will be the one laughing the loudest. If she wants a hug, she will just open her arms and know that arms will enfold her too. She knows she is loved. She knows she is precious.
She will always be beautiful to me. But I want so much, so, so much for her to keep this ability to see the beauty in herself. When she has lost her chubby baby belly, is that when she will start judging the way her body is shaped? At what point does the world teach her to lower her voice, her eyes, her head?
I want to wrap her up in her innocent self-love so that it stays with her always, so that she never, ever wonders about her own worth. I don’t want her to lose her golden-fine little girl hair only to gain her mother’s insecurities.
I can’t stop the world from affecting my child in ways that I will not always like. But I can show her every day a woman who is not afraid to laugh, to love, to sing loudly, and to dance with abandon. A woman who loves herself, as she is.
We Don't Chew Glass 