A Letter to my Husband, as our Daughter starts Kindergarten

This Monday my daughter goes to school for the first time. And as she takes those first tentative steps into kindergarten I find myself needing to write a letter. But it isn’t a letter to my daughter, or to her kindergarten teacher – it’s a letter to my husband.

Dear Sweetheart,

I find myself grappling with so many bittersweet feelings as our sweet baby takes this momentous step towards her future. Instead of her being always within my eyesight during the day, we are letting her walk into the wider world. In truth, my mind can hardly imagine a world where someone else will spend the day with her – not me.

But the reason I can’t imagine that is beautiful! Its because of you sweetheart. You gave me a most precious gift 6 years ago when you went back to work after our daughter was born, and I stayed home with her.

(The first day I ventured out of the house with her on my own…)

So what I want to tell you today, as we both brace ourselves for the coming changes in our daughters life is this… your commitment to having a parent stay at home with our baby as she grew, has been a gift to both her and also to me.

I will forever treasure the memories of crafts, songs and activities we did. Forever will I turn over images in my mind of her running around in diapers with”just woke up” hair. I love that we potty trained her on on her own timeline, not on a daycare’s. I love that when she was sick we didn’t wonder where to send her, we knew she’d be watched and loved on – in her very own bed. I love the consistency she’s had. How many afternoons have I laughed listening to the conversations she is having with her stuffed animals during nap time? And most of all – I love that I had the chance to spend each day with her as she changed and grew!

(That day we used her toys to act out the Nativity, and she refused to stop acting as Mary for a week)

I know you love her as much as I do, and I imagine it was sometimes bittersweet to come home from work and hear about her first words from me. Or to hear about all the funny/genius things she said or did while you were at work. Please know that you were talked about constantly, and it was never far from my mind that you were the reason I had this precious time.

(The month that she spent pretending to be a kitten all day)

Thank you sweetheart.

Thank you for valuing our family over money.  I will never be able to thank you enough for what it’s meant to both of us, and I will never ever forget the beautiful memories we got to make.

Thank you for the gift of these past 2,190 days with our baby girl.