There is a beautiful person I work with who I wanted to make sure to mention. I have known her for nearly 2 years (I believe) and have grown to respect her to the highest degree. She has shown me how to make fun drinks behind the bar, given me advice and help when I needed it most, and she gave me a caring listening ear.
She wrote this to me when I had just found out I was pregnant. I kept it as a reminder of who I was and who I want/need to be for my son.
Dee; Thank you for all you have done for me. You are the one person who will always tell me straight up what I need to do and how to fix things.You truly are a wonderful person and I am so glad to have you in my life.
Aw...Sammie, you made a commentary that I am writing for a magazine, so I thought I'd send it to you. I see a lot of myself in you, I am also the oldest child from an alcoholic family and I see you doing a lot of the exact same things I did. You are kind of my mini-me. But I thought I'd excerpt the blog and send it to you. If you need anything let me know.
*****
Welcome to the end of the world as you know it. As of your due dates, the world will no longer officially be about you, it will be about diapers and feedings and vomit and diarrhea.
And, of course, the deepest and most pure love that ever existed.
I am actually jealous that you will get to have your own little bundle of hope, one that you can constantly look at and find an ever-evolving world of your eyes, his hair, your crooked pinkie finger. I myself have wanted another one of these for so so so long, but it isn’t meant to be apparently.
I actually think you will be a pretty good mother. But don’t be stupid and think that you can do this all by yourself, because you can’t. The entire endeavor of raising a child will require the assistance of your entire family, a community of schoolteachers, coaches, and babysitters, friends and a whole host of other people that will be required in order to do this successfully. Do not turn down their overtures. Because babies turn into children, who turn into people. And we want our little people to be the best that they can be.
It is now time to grow up. Having a baby is not about the pretty strollers and cribs and accoutrements that go with a baby, but rather being a steady and loving influence on another living being. You will want to have the very best for your clean, sweet-smelling baby. That means that you will not want a keg party, random bar pickup, marijuana, or even bad grammar around your baby. Everything you do, from getting your college degree to vacuuming your floor, will be about improving life for your baby.
Can you handle this?
