By Emma Heaphy
This is how I want you to grow up.Â
In a happy home, a loving home, a safe home.Â
Smiling when you’re happy, crying when you’re sad and yelling when you’re mad.Â
I want you to be able to feel emotion, understand emotion and express emotion. Â
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This is how I want you to grow up.Â
Learning through mess, learning through play and learning through challenges. Â
Having dirt through your fingers, grass stains on your pants and leaving muddy footprints at the door.Â
I want you to understand our planet, gain knowledge through experience and be brave enough to explore.Â
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This is how I want you to grow up.Â
Having good role models, all with various backgrounds and from all walks of life. Â
Teaching you kindness, teaching you resilience, teaching you empathy. Â
I want you to learn important lessons, to be open minded and to appreciate your elders. Â
This is how I want you to grow up.Â
Wearing blue pants, playing with trucks and going out on the farm with your dad. Â
Understanding you are powerful, knowing there are no limits and that you do not need to fit into any box.Â
I want you to learn that a colour does not define you, that you seek out the path that makes you happy, that women can do anything. Â