Letters to our sons

Dear son,

You are as beautiful as the sunflower, but so is the girl that you love, or not love. As we look for a girl to be your lady, we hope that you will take care of her as much we hope that she will take of you. You should be skilled enough to treat her to the warmth and goodness of home cooked dinner as much as you expect your mother’s food from her hands. You should be strong enough to clean the house when she is tired because it will be your house to make a home too.

Dear son,

We hope that years of gyming has also exercised your heart muscles to the extent that the next time you see another human in trouble, you don’t hesitate a second to stand up for them.

Dear son,

We hope that your fingers are immersed in mud as much as they are immersed in the tv’s remote. That you know as much about plants and seeds as you know about people’s wrong deeds. That you are aware people are made of both good and bad and that there is no judgement that we can have.

Dear son,

We hope that when you open doors and pull chairs, for your lady love, and old men, they feel safe.

That the vulnerable look up to you as a good man and your friends can confide in you with their safe secrets. That you should never doubt your brilliance or feel like you don’t deserve love. Because son, we love you.

We love you and all your flaws. We love you and all your flaws. A nature’s gift, the fall’s flower. We love you and all your flaws.

Son, we hope that you never feel burdened by our hopes, but carry them on, as light feathers on your shoulders. Carry them as a warm jacket, hugging you during a long winter.

Dear son, you are whole. You are enough.