You will meet hundreds of people throughout your life – teachers, partners, mentors, lovers, friends. Most will come and go. Some will come and stay. But none will see you as I do. For I am your mother and will always see you through the lens of motherhood.

Others will step into your life and see you only as you are; I will know what shaped you. I will see you as a sum of all your experiences.

Some will only recognize your outward beauty, but I will always see your gorgeous soul shining just as brightly from within.

Others may have the joy of delighting in your gleeful laughter, but I will have the gift of still hearing the faint echo of your preschool giggles.

Everyone you meet will certainly take notice of your strength, but I will never forget how tiny and fragile you once were.

Though I will always see you through the lens of motherhood, I promise you, I will not fail to see you as the person you chose to be.

My love for you is unwavering.

Some may take you for granted or lose interest and cast you aside, but I longed for you long before you were born and my love for you will endure long after I die.

This story originally appeared on Facebook.

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