I am a man of many flaws, one filled with an array of imperfections. In some eyes, I shouldn’t be standing yet here I am. Doing so.

 

I thought about Linzi. About how much she wanted to be a mother to that beautiful little girl asleep in the other room as I write this. I thought about what she would’ve wanted for her. 

 

I thought about all of the conversations that we’ll never have to discuss her future. To discuss if my response to certain situations are the right ones. If I’m being too hard on her. If I’m not showing her enough attention or affection.

 

Im not sure if Linzi would be proud of the man I’ve become or not. I’m sure she would’ve smacked me in the back of the head and told me to handle some things differently.

 

What I do believe she’d want me to pass on to our daughter is compassion for others. To love in a world so desperate to be loved. For what it is. For who they are. To do so fiercely. Because we loved fiercely.

 

That’s what I want to instill in Lila.