To my future children,

I love you fully and endlessly. From the little hairs on your head to the tip of your toes. I promise to protect you, to support you, to adore you, to hold you, to scold you, to teach you, to laugh with you, to console you, to wipe your tears, to take care of you, until my last dying breath. I promise to remind you of how beautiful, smart, kind, courageous and loving you are each and every day.

When I get mad at you, know it will not last long and that I love you no matter how upset I become. When you get mad at me, know that will in no way lessen my affection for you as a mother. I will remind you that you are not your mistakes, but rather a product of how you learn from those mistakes. I will teach you that kindness and humility will take you farther in life than any other quality. I will teach you that you are in no way better than others and others are in no way better than you. I will give you what you need, but I will not spoil you. I will teach you how to love yourself and demand the love you deserve.

I will be your best friend and you will be mine, but above all else, I will always be your mother. I promise to instill the importance of God, family, and reciprocation. I promise to accept you and teach you how to accept others. I will show you patience, I will show you respect, I will show you compassion, and I hope that one day, you will show others the same. I vow to show you the beauty of life, and how it was made to be seen through your eyes. Everything I do, I will do for you. I will live and breathe for you, because you are the world, and you are mine.

To my future children, I hope you come to have your Aunt Lexie’s determination and brains. I pray that you are blessed with the same brilliance and drive to achieve your goals. Like Aunt Lexie, I hope you keep pushing on, no matter what obstacles may set you back. May you let no adversity stop you from obtaining the success you seek. May she teach you resilience and unshakable strength that will help get you through anything you may run into in life. May she love you and also become one of your best friends because she is mine. May she teach you quality over quantity in every aspect of life. If you so choose to run to anyone in your time of need, you may always run to her. She is the most brilliant, caring, reliable, and warmhearted individual I know. I promise to be as proud of you as I am of her. And if you unwrap a gift from her that happens to be multiplication tables on your 2nd birthday party, just know, she means well.

To my future children, I love you fully and endlessly because I was loved fully and endlessly by my special mother and father. All the love and affection I have to give to another being I owe to them for showing me. I thank them for teaching me kindness and gratitude. For teaching me love and respect. For teaching me and giving me all of the things I hope I can give you. I love them fully and endlessly, as I know they will love you.

I hope you acquire grandpas hardworking, motivated, giving and warmhearted mentality. I hope you are granted with his confidence and self-love that made it possible to accept the love of his life that he knew he deserved, your wonderful and one of a kind grandmother, and my special mom. I hope God blesses you with her kind heart, the love for others, her faith in God, and her selflessness and patience. I hope you obtain every amazing quality from both my mother and father. I hope I will be able to nurture you and care for you the way my parents do.

I hope to sacrifice whatever it may be, just as my parents do, to give you the best life imaginable. I hope to be half the parent to you that my parents are to me. And above all else, I promise to look at you with the same happy, full, content, and proud eyes that my parents look at my sister and me with.

To my future children, until the day we meet.