C is for Courage

Courage. I can just hear the Cowardly Lion spit the word out.

Courage. The easiest thing in the world to know about. The hardest thing in the world to have. That's because it's only when you are confronted with something bigger than yourself, something that makes you want to stomp your foot and scream "But it's not FAIR!", something that makes you want to give up, to run away, to curl up under a blanket and ignore its existence, it's only then that courage comes into play.

A wise man once said, "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway." (I know you and your generation will have your own heroes, your own icons, but John Wayne was a great one. I have to wonder if you will ever know his name, if you will ever recognize why he was so heroic, so iconic.)

That's why it's so hard, this courage thing. Because the first step is being scared to death.

I wish I could tell you, baby girl, that you will never face that kind of fear in your life. You will. It will come in all shapes and sizes. Tasks you feel are beyond your ability. Events that seem too difficult to handle. Decisions that threaten to overcome you.

And in all honesty, I can't tell you that I wish I could protect you from these tribulations, keep them from ever reaching you. (Does that make me sound like a bad mother? Hear me out. This is why these notes to you are so important. It allows me to explain myself without getting all flustered. It allows me to figure out what I really mean for you.) You see, it is only in facing that fear, that challenge, that obstacle, it is only in the midst of those hardships that your courage is developed. It is only then that you learn to saddle up anyway.

It isn't courage if you aren't scared. Courage is being scared to death but doing it anyway. Finding the strength within yourself to stand and face your demons. Even if your hands shake. Even if your breath fails you.

So, my sweet girl, I wish for you not a lack of hardships, but rather the courage you need to face them.