To watch every single inch you both grow.
I won’t be here forever, but I hope I get to see your smiles every day until I can’t.
I hope I get to see those nights when you’re too scared to sleep without me,
And the ones when you don’t need me there anymore.
I hope I get to see all the tantrums firsthand,
And the teenage attitudes that somehow lead to adult friendships.
I won’t be here forever,
And the very thought of not being here with you scares me more than any monster ever could:
Who will lift you when you fall?
Who will hold you when you cry?
Could anyone love you as deeply as I do?
As purely? As wholly?
I know they just can’t…
Just like I know I won’t be here forever.
So I promise to make every memory I can the happiest one you have.
I promise to keep loving every second I have with you, even those threeA.M.wake-ups—
It’s just a few more minutes of today with you.
I promise I’ll soak up all our silly moments and savor every last one.
I promise you’ll have my full attention, every day, every hour, every minute I can spare.
I promise nothing will be my world more than you, my babies.
Nothing will hold my heart the way you do, my loves… Nothing.
So no, I won’t be here forever.
But forever,
I’ll be yours.
Love, Mama.
E folded the poem and put it back in its place—a box where I keep notes and poems I write for our son and daughter.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to him. “You’re an amazing writer, Syd.”
My cheeks warmed with a blush, and he smiled at the effect his compliments still had on me. “Sometimes.”
