10 Promises to My Children

My boys are my legacy. My heart and soul outside my body. These are the promises I want to keep for them from now on. They are things I may not have been great about in the past but from here on out, the dude abides. Of course there are more than these but these are the big ten. The ten that will not change as they age.

I will never knowingly endanger you. Emotionally or physically. 

 I will never strike you. In anger, in warning or response. I don't believe it will ever get either of anything but pain. Literally or figuratively.

I will always be available to you when you need me. Even if you think I am too busy or too old, I am always here with open arms and ears. I may not always agree with you but I will always help you and respect your decisions.

I will try to model the behaviors I expect from you. Politeness, fairness, honesty, forgiveness and all of the others. I want you to stay perfect, so I have to try to be too.

I promise I will always applaud your effort. Failures aid in making the person. Without failure, there is no success. 

I promise to try to give you freedom where I can. Sometimes its not possible or safe but you will learn best from experience.

I promise to acknowledge when I am wrong. Nobody is perfect, especially not your mama.

I promise to be fair. Sometimes that means saying no to things you really want. Sometimes it means saying yes to things you don't. I love you still the same.

I will never talk poorly of you where you can hear me. Even if I think you aren't listening. My job is to build you up, not tear you down.

I will always love you. No matter what happens. No matter where life takes you. No matter what path you take. You will always be my baby and my love for you will never falter, waver or fail.