11.25.11

Dear King Zoë,

Sometimes the world can be frustrating and people can be irritating.  Sometimes you're having a bad day and you're just looking for an outlet, but remember that everyone you lash out at is loved by someone just as much as you are loved by us.  It would hurt me terribly to know that anyone would crush your feelings by being mean so try to treat others gently even when you don't feel like it.  You'll have much less to regret.  I hope that I model this for you as you grow up, but my temper does get the worst of me sometimes too.  In that case, there's nothing wrong with apologizing, even to complete strangers.  Whenever you violate your principals and act in a way that's not worthy of you, the most damage you do is to yourself.  It doesn't matter if it's the President, your mom, or a convenience store clerk, treat everyone with equal respect.

I wish I could say that means respect will be returned and sometimes, maybe it will, but more often than not, you're going to let people into traffic who don't wave back at you, and hold doors open for people who don't even look in your face as they brush past without a single word. It's not how other people behave that matters though.  You don't treat people well just to get the results you want from them.  You treat people well because it reflects on who you are and you are a good and loving person.  You treat people well because the world needs more people to do just that.  It can be a really cold place when everyone just thinks of themselves.  Instead of looking at the world around you as one populated with strangers, try and see them as mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, husbands, wives, cousins, brothers, sisters and best friends.  Every life is precious to someone.

All my love and best wishes for your future,

Mama