dear quinn

my little angel girl, that's you.  in the swirl of diapers and showings and tantrums and tears and smiles that the last three months have been, i haven't had a proper chance to write to you, my little girl.  to tell you just how much i love you, how much i'll always love you.

you came into this world lightening fast, ready and eager to be a part of it.  the moment you were born they placed you on my chest, where you stayed for a long, long time.  you nursed right away; you somehow knew just what to do, and we fell into our rhythm as mother and daughter with ease.  you fell into our family with ease, in fact, as though you were always one of us.  our quinnie boo.  our girl.

i think, little one, that you are what we call an old soul.  you seem to possess the wisdom of someone who's been here before, someone who knows that despite life's challenges, everything is okay, everything is good.  i can tell in your steady gaze and your bright, generous smile, that you're someone who will give second chances, someone who will laugh at mistakes, someone who will dance in the rain.  and maybe, through you, i'll learn to forgive more, and laugh more, and dance more.  maybe i already am.  there's a calmness to you, an innate contentment, that brings me a kind of peace i've never felt.  you give me hope, baby girl.  you inspire me.

for the rest of my life, i will devote myself to not letting you down.  to holding your hand as you grow into your place into this beautiful, broken world of ours.  i will be forever grateful to have the chance to know you, to be with you, to have you as my daughter.  you make my heart whole, little one.  thank you.

love always,
mommy