Thank you for the love

Since day one you filled my sight with beauty: trees, flowers, smiles, eyes overflowing with love as they looked into mine. You made the most harmonious sounds continuously pass my ears: singing birds, running wind, breaking waves. You had me feel all the wonders that surround me: grainy sand, sharp rocks, hot sunshine on my face. You allowed me to discover a rainbow of flavours from the sweetness of honey to a bitter coffee. You put your favorite perfumes in my nose: flowers at the beginning of spring, humid dirt after a rainy night, salty ocean air.

Thank you for the nurture.

You showed me not to be afraid even when you knew you did not have the advantage. You are always true to yourself, never hiding who you are, never covering yourself, always inviting. Even in the moments you know how much you could lose, how much is at stake, how your beauty could make you weak, you always stood straight.

Thank you for your bravery.

Being brave never meant allowing others to walk all over you and take advantage of what you were offering. Being strong is a part of your core identity, it keeps you standing. Fighting back to protect yourself, saying enough when it is enough, defending your ground, knowing when to say "No".

Thank you for teaching me to mark my boundaries.

But not only. You always had something to say, a reason not to stay quiet, a way to speak your mind. A way to finding back the balance, a balance achievable only after letting it out. Acting, speaking, making things happen instead of staying with your arms crossed, something that I always found difficult you, on the other hand saw as the only option.

Thank you for showing me how to speak up.

You have always had all the answers, without additives or chemicals or animal testing. You always showed me that beauty expresses differently in every body, in every culture, in every woman. That beauty shines through when there is love for oneself, when there is a healthy body and a healthy mind. We are who we are, who we were born to be, there is no need for extras or for invented "beauty" standards.

Thank you for accepting my most natural side.

Together we got through cold nights camping out, foggy roads where it was hard to drive, forest rains in the city without an umbrella, snowy nights that lasted for 14 hours. Moments were I thought I would freeze, that I thought I would fall and break a leg, were I thought I was blind because I could only see 2 meters ahead.

Thank you for putting challenges in my path, for making me grow.

You were always close by when I needed you most. The days when I needed to get away from the caos, the craziness, the routine, the noise. You where there to remind me of the beauty of a flowering tree, or a quiet lake surrounded by hills, and my personal favorite sandy beaches showered by the ocean.

Thank you for always being there.

Getting smiles out of me in the "darkest of times" was always your favorite thing to do. Making me dream of places to go and discover was your way of telling me stories. Pushing me to keep going because something better is around the corner is your secret talent. Always making me have a new destination to get to, a new challenge, a new goal will always be the "Ace under your sleeve".

For that and most of all, I am thankful for all the love.

Thank you Mother Earth.