Dear Little One,

I never knew how soon how a mother heart could start beating. Then, little one, I heard your mother heart beating inside that tiny body and in its cadence I heard the truth about mother hearts everywhere.

I love to watch the lub-dub of your mother heart as you play with your babies. It doesn't matter if you have two babies or five or even a pile of seven; your eyes scan the room to make sure not one baby is unattended. If you find a baby that's strayed from the group, you toddle over to scoop them up and safely return them to the family.

I love to watch your mother heart in action. But, there's something I need you to know. That mother heart of yours, the one that beats so strong, it is not contingent on the number of babies in your arms. That mother heart that strikes such an instinctual rhythm, it will beat no matter what. That's because mothers are not made, they just are.

Yes, there are mothers with arms full of babies but that's not the only kind of mother to be celebrated.

There are mothers who fill their hearts with babies and there are mothers who have dreams full of babies. Some mothers have to say goodbye to their babies and some mothers never get to say hello.

I know that there are mothers who may not be tethered by biology, but demonstrate that love will always be a stronger link than DNA. I've met mothers who raise their babies with other mothers and mothers who share babies with fathers. Some mothers must stand on their own and some choose to.

There are mothers who struggle with their role and there are some mothers who can't ever seem to figure it out. Their mother hearts hurt and they have caused hurt.
Sometimes mothers leave their babies with words left unsaid and with memories still taking shape. Their mother heart may lay silent, but they leave behind the echoes of their love.

There are those mothers who use their mother heart for something other than raising babies. Mother hearts can flourish in so many ways. They defy expectations and they exist beyond assumptions. Little one, I will never tire of discovering all the ways that a mother heart can find its rhythm.

No matter how a mother heart beats, all mother hearts are strong. This does not mean they are incapable of breaking. Actually, it's quite the opposite. Your mother heart will break and it will break many times. But, mother hearts are STRONG. They are POWERFUL. They withstand so much. They have to. No vessel could hold so much love without the proper reinforcement.

Little one with your mother heart, I don't know what's in store for your mother heart and it's not my job to guess. I just know that your mother heart already holds so much love and I hope you know it's okay to always let more love in. Remember how much your mother heart can hold and no matter how it beats, I will always hear it.