The day you had three girls, you were so worried.  You were scared that we would have your heart.  You were scared that that meant that all of the heartache that you have endured in your life, your daughters would too be faced with.  All of the tears that you shed over life’s challenges, your daughters would inevitably meet, too.  All of the pain that came with having your heart throughout your life, you were scared your daughters would experience it all the same.

I have your heart.  I have had my heart broken by boys, just like you.  I have broken boys’ hearts, just like you.  I am a young dreamer, as you were, and I have had dreams crushed by reality, as you have.  I have been let down, I have been betrayed by friends, as you have.  I have been optimistic about the world and the people in it, only to be discouraged in the end.  I have been too nice.  I have had people walk all over me.  I have let my emotions get the best of me.  I have cried over spilt milk.  I have spent too many days wishing things were the way they used to be.  And I have wasted too many tears, too much time, and I have cared too much.

But because of the heart that I have inherited from you, I give.  I care.  Despite the heartache I am compassionate and positive.  Despite the people who have let me down, I find it in this heart, this heart of yours, to love regardless.  I’m still a dreamer.  I’m still optimistic about the world and the people in it.  I would give anything for the ones I love.  I am small, as you are, but I have a big heart, and a welcoming one.  I am passionate, I give my all and more.

We had a heart-to-heart not too long ago.  You said, “Baby, do you know why I worry about you?”  I guessed, you shook her head.  Guessed again, wrong.  “Why, then?”

“Because you have my heart.”

I was your baby girl, the one that would follow you everywhere and would never leave your side.  The one that would color with you and draw pictures for you, the one that would make you laugh.  I was that teenage girl that you butted heads with more than any of your other daughters, the one that thought you would never understand me.  When really, you understood me more than anyone else could ever.

I am now a young lady who is realizing more and more every day how similar we are.  We are the same person.  I have your heart.  And I am so truly blessed.

I love you so much, Happy Mother’s Day.