Son,

If I am lucky enough to conceive you, birth you, and raise you, I am also lucky enough to lead you down a path of success and wholesomeness.

The way I raise you will be a reflection on myself, and I know you will make me proud.

I will teach you the morals and values that will only better yourself as a human being walking on this planet filled with billions of other human beings. You will know how to treat a person, how to help a person, and how to be a person.

In the world I live in today, as a woman, I am hesitant while exiting a building a night and walking through a dark parking lot. As a woman, I feel it necessary to carry pepper spray (some feel it necessary to carry a gun.) My son, you will not be a man that women are hesitant of. Around you, women should not have to feel like they need a weapon.

I will raise you to be a respectful, protective man. I will show you how to love and care for a woman. And your father will make sure no mistake is made, because he wants you to be the man he raised you to be, as well.

Your father and I would teach you how to stand up for yourself and for someone who has not yet learned to stand up for themselves. We will teach you to keep chivalry alive. No, I don't mean cater to anybody, because you are not a doorstep. But when you meet a woman, and she gives you a warm, nervous feeling, you will respect her. Not just respect her in the public eye, but also behind closed doors.

We will guide you to not only aim to improve your livelihood, but the livelihood of your loved ones. Your presence and assistance will be reassurance that your loved ones can rely on you. You will be raised to be reliable, like your mother.

In this day and age, more and more men are committing acts of violence, against women, against public businesses, against the world....but you? You won't be the committer, you won't be a zebra. You will be the watchdog. You will care, I will raise you to care about your fellow man.

Lastly, son, you will leave a positive footprint on this world. You will smile at strangers, you will be the best that you can be, and you will never ever stop trying. Your grandparents taught me that. And that, I will pass down to you.

Until we meet.