07.13.09
10th Letter to a Future Daughter
(Another Mouth to Feed)
My Dear Sofia,
In many Filipino stories and everyday provincial jargon, it is not only once that the words “another mouth to feed” appear whenever there is a looming childbirth, and the phrase is not usually without an accompanying wistful or worried indication. This bothers me. It means that a child is unwelcome and only viewed as an additional burden. Surely children do not just sprout by themselves, or come in bundles delivered by storks, nor do they beg to be created.
Whenever I see an infant’s tiny fingers and toes, look into their immaculate eyes, smell their pure breaths, fondle their petite ears, kiss their button noses, and hear their gentle purrs, I always find myself asking, how can such a remarkable creature be unjustly labeled as “another mouth to feed”? No matter how moneyless a family is, a child is still [supposed to be] the product of a unity bound by great love. Children are miracles, blessings, and a heritage from above.
As for you, when you enter our lives, you will not be merely another mouth to feed. You will be a fruit of consummate love. Without wistfulness or anxiety, you will be another heart to nurture, another brain to cultivate, another hand to hold, another foot to guide, and another soul to love.
………………………………………………
.
To read all Letters to a Future Daughter, Click Here.
elaine said,
July 13, 2009 at 10:42 pm
this is sweet. yeah, i agree with you. it’s sad that innocent children are sometimes viewed as burdens instead of joys. some are even viewed as investments…. like how i feel sometimes. (i am tempted to write letters to a future daughter too… this is inspiring.)
Miracle ♪♫ said,
July 13, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Awww… I’m sorry you feel that way at times, Elaine… rest assured, you are definitely so much more than that. I’m glad this inspires you. It would be so nice reading your letters… and finally see the fruition of our letters one day. =)
owen said,
July 14, 2009 at 12:38 am
with this, i remember Nadya Suleman and the surrogate moms using babies as their livelihood. sigh! such a poignant reality of life..
Miracle ♪♫ said,
July 14, 2009 at 1:21 am
I wasn’t too updated with her case, Owen, so I couldn’t really pass judgment… but basing on what I’ve heard, she was quite a strange woman. Indeed, people see babies differently… when all they deserve is to be loved.
jonathan hawk follows closely said,
July 15, 2009 at 2:04 am
beautifully penned, i love this series that you’ve constructed.
children are miracles, even when they’ve grown beyond their early “pure” moments.
Miracle ♪♫ said,
July 15, 2009 at 6:25 am
Thank you, Jonathan. That is true. The growth cycle is itself a miracle, never to be taken for granted… and it’s good to be reminded that no one can be adults unless they have been children first.
elaine said,
July 16, 2009 at 8:50 pm
:) if yours is sofia… mine is simone. :)
truthfully, i don’t have the courage to write for a future daughter yet! but i hope God willingly that our daughters may be good friends in the future.
Miracle ♪♫ said,
July 17, 2009 at 7:11 am
Simone is lovely. =)
I hope for the same thing, Elaine.