love you. at the end of every conversation. love you.
and I respond: I know you do.
and because I don’t use love you to end my conversations, you’ve slowly convinced yourself that my love for you is conditional.
it is not. nothing can be further from the truth.
what does it take to convince you that you alone possess a very special place in my heart…and that my fair-mindedness insists that I accept your wishes regardless of my own desires.
I wanted you to believe you could swim from birth – in life as well as in the water. I never wanted you to cling to my skirt so, when I could, I chose to be a hands-off mom who would stand by and watch from the shoreline. you are a very independent young woman, which was exactly what I’d hoped you’d be. as you grew, I never believed I should stop you from making choices anymore than I believed that I could rescue you from a dangerous tide if you strayed too far beyond this mother’s grasp.
making the choices you want to, you are now embarking on a new phase as a soon-to-be young bride with many hopes and dreams. and I still have mine.
so, I hope one day you will perceive that your mother’s love for you is still standing on that shore, respecting your wishes and allowing you to be who you are…and saying love you.