In honour of today, the Day of the Girl, I’m going to break my normal rule of refraining from writing about my daughters, by writing an open letter to them.
Dear girls,
Today is the Day of the Girl, so I’m going to tell the world everything I’ve learned about life as a girl. You’re much smarter, more perceptive & will fare much better in life than I ever could, and you probably teach me more than you learn from me, but I the Mommy, so I should impart some knowledge, aside from “Don’t do anything I do, because its probably stupid.” So, here goes:
1. Eye shadow isn’t to impress boys, or to improve your appearance. It’s for fun. If it ever becomes the former, throw it out.
2. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to dominate; in fact, I encourage it.
3. You can be a mom, have a career & be a wife. I don’t know how, but when I figure it out, I’ll make an instruction manual for you in power point.
4. Some people are worth crying over. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar.
5. Strength comes from admitting you have moments where you are weak.
6. It’s okay to be vain. You should think you’re the most beautiful & intelligent person in the room. Most people In the room agree anyway.
7. Pick a goal & go. Don’t stop until you’ve done it…then pick a new one.
8. Forgive everyone who hurts you. Give second chances, third, fourth & fifth. After all, you’d want them to do that for you.
9. Embrace pink, shopping & mascara. There’s no shame in being a girl. Listen to metal & watch MMA. Do not become a stereotype. Watch sports & obsess about lip gloss. There’s nothing wrong with any of it.
10. Get a gay best friend (if you’re gay, get a straight one).
11. Love’s worth fighting for, even if you lose 100 battles before you win the war.
12. Do whatever you want with your body (once you’re 18) as long as you remember that you can’t live with me forever & you need a job.
13. Don’t be afraid to say no to sex. For real. Don’t be afraid to take your body seriously & treat it as a temple & not an In & Out Burger. A real man (or woman) knows that you giving over your body is the greatest gift you can give him (or her) & should treat it as such.
14. Trends are boring. Do your own thing.
15. Be yourself, even if you’re a goofy, sort of ditzy, neurotic mess who songs along to her iPod in public. Be weird & own it. The first time you compromise something about your personality, you’ve betrayed yourself.
16. The past may shape your behaviour but it doesn’t have to dominate your future. Never let one bad experience ruin how great life can be.
17. Everything awesome in life comes to those who work hard. Be gracious in victory & tenacious in defeat & never give up on your dreams. If its right, it’ll happen.
18. You can tattoo your eyelids, aspire to run a freak show, collect cats, end up on Hoarders, train competitive spiders, mess up a million times & I will still be proud that you are mine. From the moment you were born, you have exceeded my hopes and dreams. You are proof God is real & the reason I breathe. I’m totally going to embarrass you in public as you grow up & clap loudly when you graduate & watch as you change the world for the better.
So, laugh hard, fight harder & never be afraid to dream big. Aim for nothing less than world domination & no matter where you land, you’ll succeed.
The Misadventures of MHC 
wow that was touching
Beautifully written MH!