Lessons for My Daughter

With my preganancy about to conclude and swiftly change into someone’s birthday, I wanted to go through my checklist for the first few weeks of this new life that was about to be presented to me….ready or not. I smiled at my success as I double checked the list and every item returned having a nice green check mark beside it.

I then got up from the table and tidied up the kitchen and the four (yes FOUR – don’t judge) plates of snacks I’d been munching on all morning. Suddenly, as if knowing my gloating needed to be brought to an absolute end, the phone rang. It was my mother-in-law and she – as if the devil herself – mentioned the one item I’d forgotten on my list…the baby book.

Of course I wanted to make my daughter the traditional baby book full of dates, footprints, hair clippings, and firsts. Who wouldnt?

So…my MIL came to pick me up and off we went to find this hidden holy grail. Mind you this is now 6 days AFTER my due date. My daughter already showing her stubborness and humor by making me wait an extra week (and an extra 5 pounds).

Then – as if finding the perfect baby book in Hallmark wasn’t going to be sufficient enough of a memory – that little kiddo karate chopped my uterus! Whoosh…my water officially broke right there in the middle of the store! Sorry Hallmark, guess I’m the one giving you the lasting memory this time.

I tell you all of this, because it was while I was lying in labor in my new delivery suite, that I decided there needed to be some form of documentation for all of the funny and impromptu things that this child was going to bring upon me. So while I rested between contractions, I plotted out how I would turn her humor, her mistakes, her successes and our crazy journey together — into a collection of memories for years to come.

Over the next few months I transitioned a blank journal into a book. Each chapter began with a poem I’d written that somehow symbolized our time together. The next few pages basically gushed over my sweet daughter and all of the things we were learning about one another — her making me a mom and me trying not to screw her up permanently for the years to come.

The final section would conclude with an important life lesson. A lesson that would be so invaluable that it would still reach her heart from the words I’d left behind if something were to ever take me from her. Which is the reason why we’re here…..the lessons.

It’s been 9 years since I started the journal and my daughter has been reading it like a bedtime story every night. It was as we laid in the bed together that each lesson hit me like I was the pupil and she was the teacher.

It was in her innocence, wonder, laughter and happiness that each of my lessons were being brought to life. The words I’d written nearly a decade ago, reminded me that id forgotten some of the most important lessons that I’d wanted to instill in my daughter.

So here are the first 5 lessons for you…based off of something that was created as a mother for her child. May we all remember that life’s lessons don’t always have to be hard.

Lesson 1 – Smile
Smile EVERY chance you get. A smile is the most powerful thing a person can possess. It has the ability to change anyone’s mood – including your own. Smile through the successes, the failures and the inbetweens. Smile through any tears, fears, sorrows and set backs. Your smile is your own little secret that says you know you’ll make it through. Most importantly – smile because I love you!
Until next time little one – I love you…

Lesson 2 – Laugh
It is impossible to laugh and cry at the same time, unless the laughter has brought on the tears. Laugh because people never do what you expect. Laugh because you are comforted by the music of your own voice. Laugh because you know you are loved. Laugh because you know that nothing lasts forever. Laugh because it just feels so good to just laugh. But NEVER use your laughter as a weapon at the expense of another. Remember that laughter is contagious. Use your smile and your laughter to get ahead in life. You’d be surprised at just how far it’ll get you.
Until next time – I love you….

Lesson 3 – Explore
Watching you these past few months, it makes me realize just how important exploration is. Explore new places, new things and new adventures. Always learn your surroundings and meet new people. The world we live in develops more every day…dont you want to be the one to discover it? Learn how things work – take them apart and rebuild them. There is such an exciting future that awaits you if you never stop seeking what is just beyond the horizon. Let your imagination take you to depths you never thought possible and let curiosity be your guide!
Until next time – I love you…

Lesson 4 – Dream
Dreams are what you base your life on when you’re awake. Your job is to dream the biggest dreams possible to make yourself happy. I repeat….to make YOURSELF happy. My job is to make sure that I provide you with every last opportunity to reach each and every one of those dreams. I cannot begin to imagine where that perfectly exciting mind can take you. Don’t you dare let anyone talk you out of one of your dreams…they were never there’s to have, share, or modify anyway.
Until next time – I love you….

Lesson 5 – Success
Personal Success –
This lesson gets a little deeper. A true life lesson that will push you to be your best and to not accept failure. In A world that accepts mediocrity — surpass the expectations of everyone. This is not a complete list of what will bring you success…it is a merely a starting point.
Success begins with positive thinking. “Attitude determines attitude” – meaning the better your attitude, the further you will go in life. If you believe you can do it….most of the time you really can. This means that if there are times when you fail (and we all fail at some point) you regroup, keep a positive outlook and learn the lesson from the failure. Once you’ve determined the lesson, you regroup and start the charge forward again.
Personal Accountability. Most success boils down to perseverance, determination, tenacity, and other products of personal accountability. The only people in life you HAVE to account to are God and yourself. You may look to family for approval, your friends for their opinions, but the person who has to live with what they do — is you…and only you. Now…remember that every decision you make does have other people is does affect. Like a rain drop in a pond – it ripples outward until it dissipates. You will have to live with your choices, but other people may be hurt, depleted of health wealth and/or happiness. Be careful in every decision you make.
Setting and Achieving Goals. Goal setting, research, planning, commitment, and hard work are all required to reach any big, life-changing goal. In other words, all the schooling in the world won’t help you reach your dreams if you don’t take the time to determine what you want and how to obtain it.
Don’t listen to negativity. If someone tries to tell you something is impossible – you just tell them it is possible…for you. Just because someone else doesn’t believe they can do It, doesn’t mean you can’t. Exceed. Become exceptional.
I love you more than anything in this world my mini!!
Until next time – I love you…

— K. B. Lever

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