05/19/2026
My first baby graduated high school.🎓
The month of May has cracked me open in ways I didn’t expect.
Everyone talks about children moving out and going to College, but I didn’t know about the identity crisis that can come with. The quiet questioning. The replaying of every decision. The wondering if you did enough. Loved enough. Taught enough. Protected enough.
I’ve found myself going through somewhat of a mid-life crisis and questioning my life choices. Wondering if divorcing right in the middle of her teenage years was a bad idea, and how much it has affected her… Should I have waited until all the children were grown and out of the house… how much it must have traumatized my darling kids… Wondering what I could have done better. Wondering if I prepared her enough for the real world. And all the things I could have done better.
Motherhood has been the greatest upcycling project of my life. And while I thought I was raising her, the truth is she has raised me. And somehow, despite all my imperfections, she became extraordinary.
Watching her walk across that stage, I saw resilience. Depth. Kindness. Intelligence. Creativity. Strength. I saw a human being I am endlessly proud to know… let alone call my daughter.
My darling girl, you are going to thrive in college and in life because you are the kind of person who makes every room better. You care deeply. You think deeply. You love deeply. And even on the days you feel unproductive or behind, please remember: your worth has never been tied to what you do. It is in who you are and you simply being. Your worth and value is your birthright, it is always in full and never depleting.
Be kind and graceful to yourself.
Make yourself your own safest place.
Be your own biggest cheerleader and supporter.
Protect and nurture your inner child the way you would a tender little girl…
Because that’s what you will always be to me.
My little girl. My darling, immaculate little girl.
Forever and always.
I love you more than words could ever hold.❤️
