Dear Jess,
During a year of absolute chaos, when you felt completely broken and unlovable, you remembered to breathe. When your abusers conspired to break you, you remembered they are human. When you decided to upgrade your annoyingly-optimistic-everything-is-PHENOMENAL Jess to an authentic imperfectly messy-emotional-yet-RESILIENT Jess, you remembered to be brave. When you made questionable life decisions (accepting a ring from a man that represented unspeakable brokenness), you owned your decision and remembered to be humble.
When you needed to reach new depths of forgiveness, you developed new tools. When your faith in miracles was tested, you refused to accept mediocracy.
When people lied, you acted with love. When people were angry, you acted with love. When people criticised, you acted with love. When people betrayed you, you acted with love.
I’m so proud of you for manifesting love and kindness. I’m so proud of you for filling up your cup. I’m so proud of you for remembering the best love is self-love.
Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you for knowing when to be bold (public sharing) and when to retreat (with mommabear). Thank you for having such a diverse set of tools and a respectable amount of self-awareness to know exactly what you needed and when. Thank you for being a pillar of strength for others. Thank you for having patience. Thank you for fighting like hell to heal so your projections are of love, not hurt.
I revel in your journey.
With so much love and awe,
Your younger self