10 Promises I Make to My Children

By Terri Lively

# 1: I promise to hang in there. You can count on me.

I know that your confidence grows from knowing that you can count on certain things. You can count on me to hold you up when you are too little to do it yourself. You can count on me to love you. You can count on me to believe in you. You can count on me to be your biggest fan.

Now when you are little, you cling to me to keep you safe. As you grow, you will cling to me less because you will learn that I will always be there for you whether I am right next to you or several states away.  Until that day, I promise to hang in there when you need me.  And I promise to let you go when it’s time.

#2: I promise never to forget that you are the most important part of my life.

There are times when I am busy and when I am tired and when I am frustrated and at those times it may seem like I have forgotten. But even then, I will love you and cherish you as my child and recognize you as the most important thing I will do here on my journey.

#3: I promise to carry you so you can get the hard to reach leaves.

When you need a rest, I promise to give you my arms, my shoulders, or even my back.  I will use my strength, my knowledge, and my judgment to help you grow into the beautiful young person you will become.

When you cannot reach them, I will carry you to the tops of the trees to get you the premium leaves because you deserve the best.

#4:  Even when I am firm, and you think I’m harsh, I promise it’s only because I love you.

I look forward to the days when I will be your friend, but right now I am your mother. I will give you the rules, the boundaries and the limits that will make you feel safe, and I will show you the consequences when you test them too much. I love you too much to have it any other way.

 

#5: I promise that yours is not only a face that I could love.

Right now, I am your #1, the love of your life. Someday, I promise, if you love yourself enough and allow your heart to open, you will find someone who sees the beauty in your heart that I do every day. I promise that I will step aside to make room for him or her.

#6. I promise to apologize for the times when I am too gruff.

As much as I would like to deny it, I am not perfect. There are times when I will be too tough, too stubborn, and too mean. I will always apologize for when I am wrong because that’s what you do when you hurt someone you love.

#7:  I will give you everything I have and everything you need.

I promise that whatever you need that I have I will give you if it is mine to give you, but only if you need it. You are everything to me and more important than anything else in the world. Besides, you already have all my love and support.

#8: I promise to stand by you even when we don’t see eye to eye.

There are several things that we will not agree on and that’s okay. I promise that even when we disagree, I still love you and will look out for you.

#9:  I promise that I will never ask you to sacrifice for me.

There will be times when life forces you to make a choice between two things that are important to you. I promise that I will never ask you to choose me over something that is truly important to you.

      

#10: I promise that I will lead you the best way I know how to get you where you need to go.

I may not always know the answers, the way, or the right thing to say to make it all okay. But I promise I will do my best to find the answer, or ask for directions, or say nothing if that’s what is best. I promise you that I will do whatever I can to get you where you need to go.

I promise you all of these things because I love you.  I am your mother and I am here to help you on your journey just as you are here to be the joy in mine.

Photos by Brenton Lively, Sr.