To him,
I have thought a lot about writing this and whether I should or not.... But, since I am known for writing things.... The past 4 months have been a roller coaster at our house. My daughter's life got turned completely upside down in December. There has been so much that has hurt her so deeply. Her best friend became someone she no longer recognized, she had to change school for her safety, she lost all her friends because she no longer knew who she could talk to and who it was who was targeting her.
But, back in February, something good happened too. You see, someone told her the weekend of cowboy prom that she should talk to you and get to know you, that you had a lot in common and would probably become good friends. She told me about the conversation and at the same time, she told me she couldn't talk to you because she and your sister were just becoming good friends and she didn't want her to think that she was becoming friends with her to meet you. I told her that I agreed and respected her decision but to talk to your sister.
Then, we had the stampede weekend.... Your sister told my daughter that she really needed to talk to you and that she would never think she was becoming friends with her to become friends with you. That weekend my daughter experienced the greatest hurt she could experience from a person who was supposed to be her best friend, who degraded her and took her to the lowest point I've seen her. However, that weekend, she also found out that there was a person out there who she could become friends with. She started to message you. Amid the tears, and the hurt she was experiencing, there was laughter and smiles. She didn't know what to think and was scared to death to talk to you. She was scared and is still scared that her no longer best friend will find out that she is becoming friends with you and do everything in his power to ruin it.
I know how important this friendship is to my daughter. I have been really stressing friendship to her because I know her, and I know she is falling for you. I know that you are part of the healing process for her. I know that the friendship that is forming is far beyond what she expected. I know what her feelings are, and I know that she is scared of getting hurt. However, I also see smiles that I haven't seen, I see happiness I haven't seen, and I am thankful for the friendship that you are forming. So, because I am good at writing novels, I guess I just wrote one to simply say thank you. I told someone yesterday that you are going to make some girl very lucky because you are the most polite, sincere young man that I have met in a long time and I am glad that you and my daughter are getting to know each other and are becoming friends.
I wish I had a magic ball and could look at what the past and what the future holds. Something tells me that you have experienced a lot of the same hurt, and probably worse than what she has experienced. Something tells me that you are also afraid of getting hurt again to. But, you are taking the risk of becoming friends. You see, for my daughter, she has never had the experience of a broken relationship. She has never had the experience of the heartache that can bring. But, she has had the experience of a broken friendship where she has loved someone unconditionally and they turned that friendship into something so hurtful, and so ugly that it shattered her heart into a million pieces. It created a person who is scared to even like someone, who is scared to take a chance. But, at the same time, the hurt has created a strong person, one who will pick up the pieces and find the healing that she needs. Your friendship is a huge part of that healing because I see the pieces coming back together and I see a heart that is willing to take a chance on friendship again.
I also see a girl who knows exactly what she wants and closes all other doors. This is a girl who has never liked more than one guy at a time and who has liked very few guys at all. She makes it clear that very few guys meet her standards and she isn't willing to change those standards just to have a guy in her life. When I ask her about the type of guy she likes, you fit every aspect of it. It doesn't surprise me. There is an age difference with the two of you but if you look at the people that she hangs out with on a daily basis, they are all much older. She is a lot like you in the fact that you both have an older sibling (she has two) and their friends are the same friends that you hang out with. It gives a different level of maturity, one that she is attracted to.
I think that time will bring you two closer as friends, and if nothing else, she will have gained a friend who will stand up for her, who will have her back, and who will know what to say to her when she needs to hear it the most. You don't even know that you have already done that for her. Just the simple act of telling her to relax before going in for her very first run ever in poles was more support than she has had in months and years of friendships with others. That simple word, which was probably accompanied by a grin that you always seem to have, was exactly what she needed. That meant the world to her, during a night that was filled with nerves, with negativity, with a heart that was shattered. That simple act was a huge part of the picking up of the shattered pieces of her heart. Thank you for being the friend that she needs.
Love,
Her Mom
