A Letter to the Little Lady in my Life!

Dear Zoe,

I'm writing this letter to you on International Women's Day, I know you would not be able to remember much of this day, but I will make sure to make women's day special for you every single year. 

Sweetheart you are so amazing (Mash'Allah), you are silly, funny, loud, smart and everything I wanted you to be and a lot more. I want you to be this amazing ALWAYS. Just a few things I would like to tell you:

• You should listen to what others are saying ONLY IF YOU WANT TO. Never blindly follow what someone says or does or thinks. Make your own decisions. 
• You are Strong and always remember that.
• Being a girl doesn't mean anyone and everyone has the right to tell you how to dress 'appropriately'. 
• If people tell you to be silent and stop you from voicing your opinion, that gives you all the more reason speak up. 
• Do not show you are foolish, emotional, weak to everyone around you to gain sympathy. You do NOT need sympathy, be strong
• You might love Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty or playing dress up, I used to love them too. Explore The Dragon Prince, racing cars, fire engines and dump trucks.
• Many tales end with Happily Ever After. Do not let your Happily Every After be based on one moment, do not wait for some Prince Charming to come and sweep you off your feet. Your Happily Ever After should depend on you, you can make moments and life happy. You can be absolutely happy without a Prince Charming, but if you do meet someone you fall in love with, he will have to fall in love with who you  are - with exactly whatever you are. (and vice versa). Changing for someone is oh so not worth it. 
• Remember you are capable of doing anything... changing tyres, flying jets, anything you want. 
• Eat healthy and workout regularly (do what you like Zumba, Aerobics, weight training, swimming, yoga, anything but do it regularly). If you will be healthy you will be able to enjoy your chocolates, ice-creams, cupcakes et al even more.
• There would be those days when you will want to be slimmer/fatter, fairer, richer, brighter, taller, or you would also want to become a boy at times, laugh those days off, do not take them seriously. Be happy in what you are. Remember what your favorite Dr. Seuss said “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
• Keep your love for reading alive... read a lot and travel a lot more (seeing how you have enjoyed the vacations we have taken, you love this as well). These things come naturally to you, and you get to learn so much.
• Have a very strong relationship with God, trust me the best moment of my life has been when I say my Namaaz and have a conversation with Him. You will find your way to connect, but do stay connected, it will help keep you at peace with yourself and the world around you.
• Respect and be nice to people who matter and who love you, but do not forget to respect/love yourself. DO NOT LET ANYONE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU - Yes people do that.
• This is something I have learned the hard way and I want you to know, do not rebel just for the heck of it (actually never do anything for the heck of it). Raise your voice and rebel when you actually and really need to. 
• Never do things because YOU ARE EXPECTED TO DO SO. Mamma hardly cooks - remember. If you like cooking and when you want to do it. Same goes with anything and everything.
• Dress up and take care of yourself. That does not mean you become a Fashion Victim.
• People who do not have a mind of their own follow anything and everything their peers do. You my girl are my Smarty Pants.
• Not all guys out there are foolish (remember your Fizz if that thought crosses your mind)

I know there are lots more things I need to add... will do it

Lots of Love 
Mommy

 And here is something I want you to read, you will love it:

For My Daughter -By Sarah McMane

“Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be.” – Clementine Paddleford

Never play the princess when
you can be the queen
rule the kingdom, swing a scepter,
wear a crown of gold.
Don’t dance in glass slippers,
crystal carving up your toes --
be a barefoot Amazon instead,
for those shoes will surely shatter on your feet.

Never wear only pink
when you can strut in crimson red,
sweat in heather grey, and
shimmer in sky blue,
claim the golden sun upon your hair.
Colors are for everyone,
boys and girls, men and women --
be a verdant garden, the landscape of Versailles,
not a pale primrose blindly pushed aside.

Chase green dragons and one-eyed zombies,
fierce and fiery toothy monsters,
not merely lazy butterflies,
sweet and slow on summer days.
For you can tame the most brutish beasts
with your wily wits and charm,
and lizard scales feel just as smooth
as gossamer insect wings.

Tramp muddy through the house in
a purple tutu and cowboy boots.
Have a tea party in your overalls.
Build a fort of birch branches,
a zoo of Legos, a rocketship of
Queen Anne chairs and coverlets,
first stop on the moon.

Dream of dinosaurs and baby dolls,
bold brontosaurus and bookish Belle,
not Barbie on the runway or
Disney damsels in distress --
you are much too strong to play
the simpering waif.

Don a baseball cap, dance with Daddy,
paint your toenails, climb a cottonwood.
Learn to speak with both your mind and heart.
For the ground beneath will hold you, dear --
know that you are free.
And never grow a wishbone, daughter,
where your backbone ought to be.