My Sweet Boy,
Today, I was watching a documentary on Mr. Rogers. Sadly, you will never have the pleasure of welcoming Mr. Rogers into your living room as I did every morning. Right now, you are obsessed with Elmo. And, while I do love the educational aspect of Sesame Street and enjoy watching it with you, Elmo can never compare to Mr. Rogers.
Mr. Rogers was a soft-spoken, gentle man, who welcomed you into his neighborhood every day. He was an ordained minister and devout Christian, but never once spoke of it on his television show...he didn't need to. He lived by the words of St. Francis of Assisi, who said, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."
There was one thing that Mr. Rogers always said at the end of every show that really struck a chord with me today. He would always tell the kids, "I love you...just the way you are."
It seems easy enough to tell someone, yet, in reality, a very hard thing to do. I don't think I've ever felt that true feeling of unconditional love with anyone until I first had you. We can tell someone we love them just as they are, and yet we live in a society that is constantly trying to change/better oneself. Even the church and Christians are taught to "love the sinner, but hate the sin." Yet, something I learned a long time ago was when you put a qualifier (like "but") into a sentence, you negate everything that came before it.
There are no qualifiers or stipulations with me. I want you to know that I truly do love you just the way you are.
When you were 2 months old and cried nonstop, I still loved you just the way you were. Now that you're entering into your terrible-twos and can be quite the little mischievous terror, I love every little part of you (even your temper tantrums). And when you grow up, and are bound to make mistakes, there will be times that I'll be disappointed. There will be times that I want better for you. There will be times that you completely throw me for a loop with your choices in life. And yet, I will always love you just as you are - not for the sweet, darling boy that you once used to be; or for the man that one day I hope you'll turn out to be...but, in the moment, always just as you are.
My hope is that you will always know this, even if we don't see eye-to-eye in the future. But, more importantly, I hope that you can live this way and treat everyone around you in the same manner. You are going to meet so many different people in life...love them, accept them, just as they are. You never know what you can learn from someone else. And, in return, you'll never know how much you can impact someone else, simply by showing them love.
My hope is that I will raise you to be a kind, gentle, and compassionate man. Yet, even if that doesn't happen, I will still love you...just the way you are.
All my love,
Mom
