For fuck’s sake, Internet! Must you make me cry at 9pm on a Wednesday night, right before I turn in for the day?!
I don’t know what it was – the fact that the style of the letter is the perfect combination of funny and sad, that I miss my own Mom who is thousands of miles away and that I just can’t afford to think too much about her because I would cry constantly, or that the simple fact of reading about people knowing they are dying and leaving their family behind is just too much for me to handle… I don’t know what it was, but my throat closed up as I was reading, and then the tears started dripping on my keyboard.
This is a Mom’s letter to her teenage daughter. It is oozing love, wisdom and tenderness. Mothers are amazing.
Babyiest, see as many sunrises and sunsets as you can. Run across roads to smell fat roses. Always believe you can change the world – even if it’s only a tiny bit, because every tiny bit needed someone who changed it. Think of yourself as a silver rocket – use loud music as your fuel; books like maps and co-ordinates for how to get there. Host extravagantly, love constantly, dance in comfortable shoes, talk to Daddy and Nancy about me every day and never, ever start smoking. It’s like buying a fun baby dragon that will grow and eventually burn down your f***ing house.
My posthumous advice for my daughter, by Caitlin Moran.
The best line so far: and never, ever start smoking. It’s like buying a fun baby dragon that will grow and eventually burn down your f***ing house.