Dear daughter: Here's a birthday wish for a bright future from your mom | THE MOM STOP

I had just finished a bedtime book and prayers with my youngest child last week when I asked her what her hopes are for the next year.

It was, after all, her last few hours as a 7-year-old. When she wakes in the morning, she’ll be an entire new age, I reminded her. EIGHT.

My sweet girl, who was already tired from her long day at school, after-school art class and sitting through her sister’s soccer game, was tired. She pulled her blankets over her head.

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“I like my birthday, but I’d rather just stay 7,” my youngest child said.

“But then you’d miss out on so much if you stayed 7-years-old forever,” I told her. “Life gets more fun, the older you get. Each year, you get to do something you couldn’t do before. Like you will learn more at school and know more next year than what you do now. And as you get older, you’ll read more books than what you’ve read now,” I pointed out, knowing she loves to read.

“And as you get older, you can wear makeup if you want, or get your driver’s license, graduate from high school and go to college,” I told her.

She pulled up her covers even tighter.

“Mommy, I never want to go to college,” she said wearily. “I don’t want to ever move away. I want to stay here. In my room, at home, with you.”

I couldn’t help but quietly chuckle, knowing that in just a few short years, that too will change. She’ll discover independence. Her wings will spread. And, Lord willing, one day, she’ll discover a future for herself that is bigger than even she — or her dad or I — have hoped for her.

And so, on this eve of my youngest child’s birthday, I thought I’d pen down some of those hopes, for my sweet, sometimes shy little girl who at this point in her life would be happy growing old in the house with both her parents, in her pink and orange bedroom, surrounded by her books and stuffed animals:

Dear daughter, I hope you grow to know yourself. Not just who you think you are, but that you will have confidence in who you are becoming and who you want to be.

I hope that, with each passing year, you grant yourself a taste of adventure, as long as it's safe. But it’s OK and even better to try to test yourself, and try new things. Think outside of the box.

See the world. I know it can be comfortable to stay in your own surroundings, in your soft bed all warm and cozy. I too, relish sleeping in on the weekends. But as you get older, travel. See places not like your own. Meet people and become friends with people who are not from where you are from, or don’t speak the same language you speak. See the world from another viewpoint. Or many viewpoints.

With each passing year, I hope you find purpose. A purpose in life, perhaps unexpected, perhaps planned. But I pray that you find your path in life. It may be curved, or straight, hidden, or clear. But follow it, and know that you have a purpose. You may not always know what that is. And you may find yourself wondering if you’ve made the right choices. But one day, I hope you will look back, and realize your path led exactly where it was supposed to.

Dear daughter, as each year passes, stay true to your faith. Stay true to yourself, and know that you are smart. You are talented. You are loved.

And there is so much more in life to look forward to. I love you, little bug.

Lydia Seabol Avant writes The Mom Stop for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at momstopcolumn@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Dear daughter: Here's a birthday wish from a proud mom | THE MOM STOP