Time has never flown faster than these last nine years since I became a mother.  Sometimes when I try to remember certain parts of my children’s early years, it’s hard.  The memories are getting blurrier and blurrier, and they are still quite young.

That’s why I really enjoyed reading Heather Armstrong’s “Dear Daughter: The Best of the Dear Leta Letters”.  It took me back in time to a time that was unlike anything I had ever experienced.  I read the book on a plane and spent the next hour and a half dreaming about my first child and what it was like bringing her into the world.  It was my first born specifically, as that is also what Heather wrote about.  The joy of the unknown.

The book consists of monthly letters that Armstrong wrote to her daughter, Leta, from the age of 8 weeks old to age 5.  From diaper changes on the changing table and sticking her feet in her mouth to the dimples that first formed on her cheeks, Armstrong talks fondly about these times and how she fell deeply in love with her daughter.  It reminds me of my own unconditional love for my daughter that started as soon she exited my womb and marched into my life.

I know that Armstrong suffered from postpartum depression after she had her daughter, I have read her thoughts on that time and time again as there were parts of that time I could relate to, but she focuses on the good times in this book, and there were many.  I love the way she summed up the times with her new child and jotted down these lines while reading:

“I wanted to scoop you up and cover you in kisses for as long as you would. I know there are only a handful of moments like that in life.  Thank you for that one.” (page 42)

“Motherhood is not at all like the image I had in my head for decades.  It’s so different, so phenomenally different and what a wonderful surprise.” (page 57)

“When I see the features in her face, the way her cheekbones meet her thin nose in symmetrical angles, her milky complexion peeking out of the black of her business suit, I realized that everything was going to be okay. That was one of the most spiritual moments of my life.” (Armstrong on her mother) (page 72)

“We all know that we would sacrifice anything for each other, and one of the many reasons your father and I decided to have another child was to give you the possibility of that friendship.” (page 173)

My only question is how much of this was truly written when Leta was in her first five years and how much were these lettered edited or embellished along the way?  I thought about that many times when reading the book, but in the end I am happy that it took me back to a time in my life I want never to forget.

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book to facilitate this review but all opinions are my own.