Dear Daughter,
I hope you know that you regularly make me proud. I was certainly proud last night when you received your award at the band concert. I know that you worked hard to get it, practicing those 16 scales over and over again until you could perform them all in three minutes with no mistakes.
I admire your determination and perseverance. I beamed when they called your name and when a gym full of people clapped in recognition of your accomplishment, but I’m writing this to let you know that there were several other occasions that made me ridiculously proud of you this week.
When you told me about your weekly volunteer session that pairs you with a disabled student, I was hugely proud. I thought my buttons would burst when I learned that you had invited a girl who struggles both socially and academically to join you in your gym class group. It was a small action to you, but I suspect that it was a big action to her.
You are kind and considerate of your classmates, and that will always make me hugely proud of you. Always.
There is a lot of emphasis on awards at your school. There are the student of the week awards and the sign outside the school lists the names of kids selected for district awards. I know that there are other award winners announced over the loud speaker and in the yearbook. And while those are nice, they aren’t everything.
Awards don’t always indicate whether someone has been thoughtful, or helpful, or that they have gone out of their way to do something nice for another. I would far prefer that you do and be those things rather than bring home a lot of trophies or certificates.
You don’t need a gym clapping for you to know that you’ve done the right thing.
Please know that, in the end, the small and quiet actions that don’t get much recognition can make as big difference, and quite possibly leave a more lasting impression, as the actions that earn you plaques and ribbons.
Keep on doing what you’re doing, baby girl. Keep looking for those chances to choose kind and know that every time you do, I will be clapping for you.
Love,
Your very proud mama
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Shannon says
Congrats to your daughter on the scales thing. I am musically inept so I don’t know what that means, making me all the more impressed. I do understand kindness, though, and compassion, and I am reaching across the internet to give her and you a huge high five.
Shannan Younger says
High fives always gratefully welcomed and accepted! Thank you!
Amy @ Oh So Savvy Mom says
Amen! You daughter has a wonderful mama. And if more kids, and much more so, their parents, could realize what truly matters the world would be a much better place.
Shannan Younger says
Thanks, Amy. So, so true about the realization on the part of other parents.
Emily says
What a beautiful letter to your daughter. I hope one day she reads this and can see how much her mother loves her and advocates for her. My favorite line was “Please know that, in the end, the small and quiet actions that don’t get much recognition can make as big difference, and quite possibly leave a more lasting impression, as the actions that earn you plaques and ribbons.” So so true.
Shannan Younger says
Thank you so very much, Emily.
Sara @ Mom Endeavors says
Aww! This is so sweet! What a great mom!
Marci says
Yes! When my daughter was born I started a journal for her. Not to record the big events but the things we notice about her that really make her who she is. Picking the girl in gym class first that always gets picked last, stopping the kids from talking rudely about a child with autism at school…. and all the fun stuff in between. I plan on giving it to her on her when she leaves for college to help her remember who she really is.
Shannan Younger says
I love this so much, Marci. What a beautiful gift for her, and what a great girl you have. I hope that there’s someway for you to hang on to a copy as well, because it is such a testament to your great parenting, too.