My dearest girl,

It seems like only yesterday, I tucked you into bed, having let you watch The Lion King for the millionth time. You always asked to be folded “like a burrito,” and you giggled especially loudly when I would make the tortilla extra tightly (we called it “extra cheese”). You snuggled your Simba, (Nala, too, but she was not your favorite) and I would kiss your forehead, wishing you sweet dreams.

I remember.

Even further back, I remember your first steps. You weren’t even nine months old, and you stood right up and took off like a shot. You were always so independent, even when you were a baby.

Now, you stand before me, a beautiful young woman, smart and funny, and you are getting married! In the blink of an eye, it seems, you will wear that beautiful white gown, and you will stand next to your beloved, and you both will promise to be one another’s everything. And you will mean it.

 

Know this, dear one.

The rains will come.

The cold wind will rattle your windows, and it will seem your very foundation will crumble.

Hold fast.

Hold fast to one another, and let the storm rage, and stand.

Link your arms, and hold your palms out, screaming at the elements, and stand.

Do not let the thunder shake your resolve.

When the rains come, remember this moment, when you stood on the cliff, the wind in your hair, trembling at the excitement of it all.

Remember the look in his eyes when he said, “I do.”

Remember your first kiss, the first time he held you, the first time you thought you were breaking up, but didn’t.

Remember how he stood, awkward and nervous, in the living room, waiting for the right moment to propose.

Remember always, and stand.

Remember your hope and dreams and all the fights and making up.

Remember always, and stand.

Don’t be afraid, dear one. The storm will pass. The sun will rise, and the winds will calm.

Remember all this, and stand.

All the hope I have, I give to you, that your marriage will be forever. That you will find comfort in one another when the world offers only coldness. That you will hold fast to one another, and love. That, thirty and forty and fifty years from now, after your hair turns white and your life unfolds before you like sky blue mountaintops, days upon days that add up to a life. And what a life it will be!

Dear one, I am here, and I am your biggest cheerleader.
My heart is full.