Dear Kenna: a letter on daddy issues

Dear Kenna,

I hope you have Daddy issues...only not the kind that everyone else thinks of.

I hope that you grow up hoping to have someday what Daddy and I have.  I hope that you are particular and learn that some things are worth the wait.  I hope you see the way Daddy and I look at each other and want that.  I hope you see the way we work together as a team and never settle for less.

I hope that someday on your wedding day, after all the other guests have gone, your husband makes another vow to you, a private one, spoken from the heart where he promises to be the best husband to you and the best father for your children.  May this man do that every day of your lives together, strive to be the best man he can be for you and your family.

While I never wish challenges and struggles and burdens upon you, if they come, and they usually do, I hope your husband will weather the storm with you.  I hope that you never feel lost and alone.  I hope that he always has your back...and your front...and both of your sides.  And I hope that's where he is...at your side.

I hope that you will have understood over the years how important communication is.  And I hope that you will have a husband you can talk to, that you can share your hopes and dreams and fears with.  I hope he loves you enough to recognize when you are sad and sits down and asks you about it.  And I hope he pushes you to share even if you are afraid to or think you aren't ready.

May he say all the words of comfort that you need to hear in that moment and wrap you in a magical embrace that you will come to need as much as you need the air you breathe.  May his kisses soothe and heal, coming from lips that would never lie to you.  May his words come from a heart that would always be true to you.

May this man surprise you often with the depth of his feelings and the quiet ways he shows it.  Trust in what you see more than what you hear, just like you learned from your daddy.  No matter what, know that your mommy and your daddy will always be there for you to kiss your boo boos when you are little and help heal the bigger wounds when you are older.

With much love,

Mommy (& Daddy...the first man you'll ever love)