let them see you

You should see her tonight, her blue eyes bright with possibilities. Her smile stretching from pink cheek to pink cheek as she dances on tiptoe around her bedroom floor.  "Maybe I'll make a new friend this year, maybe I'll learn to like Math.  I think I should join choir. Do you love my new shirt?" She's so beautiful.

We've worked hard for this. A summer of late nights and late mornings, summer camp and s'mores, ice cream and scouring beaches, back yard dinner theater and bedtime shows, crafts and more crafts, she cooks breakfast, her first sleepover.

You see a year of school can be a difficult thing on a 3rd grade girl. It takes it's toll on her spirit as she finds her way in the world and toward the end of the year there are times I struggle to find her, her spirit, her soul; weighted down by unmet expectations, broken friendships, a changing body, uncertainty, awkwardness, a hesitant smile. But you should see her tonight.

So you'll understand my heart as I hand her over into a new world of Grade 4, one she must learn to navigate of course, one she must struggle in to find her own way, one that will certainly hurt her, make her question her worth, but one that offers her joy, laughter and friendship too. Choose wisely and try try again, risk your heart for love and friendship sweet girl, and let them see YOU, gorgeous you, because you're so beautiful!