Chapter Forty-Six
Dear Reed,
My name is Josie Stratton, and I’m your birth mother.
I’m sure you know by now that your birth was anything but typical.
When I think back to it, it’s with a sense of wonder that we were able to get through it at all.
Then again, maybe I’m not so surprised, for you see, of all the things that have ever happened in my life, you have been my biggest motivation to keep trying, to keep moving forward, to be better, and stronger, and braver, so that someday, if we meet again, you will be proud of me.
I know how much your mom and dad love you, how they’d protect you with their lives.
I saw it on their faces when I met them, and it will give me comfort always.
But what I want you to know is that even before they took you in their arms and welcomed you into their hearts and their home, you were already loved, deeply and unconditionally.
I don’t want you ever to doubt that, not for one moment.
I didn’t have the best upbringing; your mom and dad might have told you that.
It took me a long time to figure out what love really is because the examples shown to me felt like anything but.
It was you, my precious boy, who finally taught me the true meaning of the word.
And ultimately, my understanding of love is what allowed me to let you go.
I hope you feel that with all your heart.
You will always be the greatest blessing of my life, and I will love you until my dying breath and then beyond.
Josie