This one isn't about parenting.

It's about life.

But I'm starting to think if we can get really good at living, well, parenting sort of falls in line too.

Parenting can become an expression of how we live our lives.

Recently, a friend commented something lovely on one of my posts saying she was lucky to know me.

This was my response to her.

"I'm the lucky one.

I dream of writing a book about how the relationships and connections in my life have saved me and made me.

But every time I try, I can't find the words.

My heart swells up too big and my eyes fill with tears and my fingers and mind say, "This one might not be to big for writing about. It might be simply for feeling."

I have many hopes for my daughter.

They're not definite things like what sports she'll play or what she'll do for a living or how many kids she'll have.

My hopes are more general than that.

And way more important.

I hope she knows how her body feels after a day of physical labor.

I hope she feels the satisfaction and pride of whatever she created with that labor.

I hope she feels her blood zing with purpose as she pursues something she cares about.

I hope what she cares about comes from within her and not from others.

I hope she is healthy and more importantly, I hope she never takes that vitality for granted.

I hope she gets to find out how brave she is.

I hope she learns how to admit when she doesn't feel brave.

I hope she has arms to hold her until the fear passes.

I hope she likes herself.

I hope she dreams big, over and over again, against all odds, even when others tell her not to, even when past dreams never came to fruition, and especially when the dream seems impossible.

I hope she laughs easily and often.

These are some of my hopes for her. But if I could only wish for one thing for her, it would be this:

I hope she knows how to love and be loved.

--

I don't know what my life or the world will look like when I reach my last moments of life.

But I know that I'll be happy with how I loved and how I was loved.

And that kind of happiness? The kind I will probably never be able to put into words?

That's the good stuff.

Jenna Lee “Life in the Moment" Dillon​