In the season you’re in, not just with the hustle and bustle of the holidays but with hard decisions being made, it can sometimes seem impossible to find that inner peace & calm.  You have to be intentional in order to find this.  Settle in with a nice warm cup of orange jasmine green tea, with a touch of honey to sweeten it to your liking, and let’s begin.

Dear Ones:

There’s so many changes that have occurred within the past 15 months, with many more changes on the horizon.  You’ve grown through the obstacles you’ve faced.  At one point, it seemed that “danger” lurked around every corner as you embarked on the journey of motherhood.  Everyone seemed to pull at you, trying to push their will upon you with their expectations when this was supposed to be one of the most beautiful times in your life.  Despite their attempts, it still is because you took bricks they threw at you and built a wall around your little family.  Seeking the most protection possible for your little one, vowing to never let anyone harm your family, you took a much needed step back.  There was no manual instructing you on how to handle those trying days, but you did the best you could.  I have always been in your corner rooting for you, and I am incredibly proud of you.  It has been a privilege and honor to watch my oldest child become one heck of a mother doing all the best things possible for her little one.

Ah, my littlest baby is all grown now, too, and you embarked on your journey of independence within the past six months,  You have proven you can do this all on your own.  You are self sufficient.  You remind me a lot of myself in my 20s, striving to do it alone.  There’s one difference; you chose this path while I was thrust into it with a one year old after my separate and divorce.  Scared, with trembling hands, God reached down, calmed the storm within me and equipped me to be the best single mother I possibly could be at the time.  While it’s just you and your little puppy at this time, I see you.  I see the determination in your face.  I see the sparkle in your eye with all the creativity within you as it begins to come alive whether you’re painting the walls of your new home, helping lay the flooring, or rearranging your furniture “just right.”  None of it goes unnoticed.   Although you’re grown and on your own, I still worry about you – and your sister, too.  I’m so proud of the woman you are, and I’m always on your side.    My heart beams with pride.

For me, I have watched on the sidelines, joining in when asked to take part in both of your new lives.  Not wishing to be overbearing or pushy, I sit and wait for an invitation into your worlds – the worlds that turn without me in it more often than not.  This was extremely hard at first.  When you built your life around your children, what are you supposed to do with yourself when they are all grown?  No one prepares you for the empty nest.  Even still, I smile and pray for God’s protection over both of your lives, decisions, and where your paths will take you in life.  That’s my job, you know, just as raising you up to be the independent women that you are right now was at one point.  Because you both are successful in your roles, I can say God equipped me when raising you both.  Your success echos my success as well.  I taught you how to be independent, and I’m so proud yet didn’t know it would feel quite this lonely when I accomplished this hard part of parenting.  I’ll never tell you the tears that roll down my cheeks or the overwhelming ache in my heart as I miss you both.  When there was once loud madness and chaos, the silence in this big house is almost deafening now.  Even still, I’ll only smile at your achievements and clap the loudest for you, as I always have.

In the coming months, there will be more changes for us all.  It’s important now, more than ever, that we remember:  the great thing to hold on to in life is each other.

No matter where life takes you – even to Antarctica – we are rooted as one.  Like branches growing in different directions on a tree, we are still rooted together and remain as one.

Remember that when life gets hectic.

When you question if you made the right decision, did you make the right move, is this where you’re supposed to be in life …

Inhale … hold it … then exhale slowly.

As long as you put God first in this decision, prayed about it, and feel Him leading you; you will never go wrong with Him by your side every step of the way.

Just as God held me and guided me all those years ago, He is right there willing to do the same for you both.  Turn to Him.  Trust Him and His plan for your lives.

I love you – always & forever.  No amount of distance – whether in miles or in moments when we may not see eye to eye –  will ever change my love for either of you.  Rest in the assurance that my love is always there for you both, unconditional and unchanging.