Honestly Riley

Hey Riley.

Honestly? You're beautiful. You have a lopsided nose that only crinkles on one side and your skin isn't super clear and your lips are small and you're not as skinny as other girls.

But honestly?

You were born painfully and sweetly to a woman who had barely dipped her toes in adulthood. She kissed your nose every night and when you grew older and developed freckles there she told you that angels kissed your nose and cheeks as you dreamt. She watched your face scrunch up and wrinkle when you cried and laughed for the first time. You buried that nose in your father's neck when he finally returned from his eternal work day.

Honestly?

Your skin is what your great grandmother told you resembled her beloved porcelain dolls. When she lost her mind in the various nooks and crannies of the years she remembered your fair skin and bright hair and practiced your name before she went to sleep. Your skin is what lets you dye your hair every color you imagined donning as a young girl. Your skin is soft and swept with pink when you talk to a boy you like. Even if your baby sister innocently points out the blemishes on your face in her own oddly hurtful way, when she grows up you can tell her that you endured your teenage years with grace and dignity.

Honestly? Your lips are what allow you to talk kindly and eloquently. They let you speak freely and powerfully. They give way to a warm and expressive smile, and let you share the light you know is inside yourself. A smile that makes old people believe for a second that your generation isn't so bad. They kiss babies and get covered in whipped cream and get swollen when you play too rough sometimes.

Honestly? You're not as skinny as other girls. But you are strong and lovely and you have your grandmother's bones. You are solid and immovable, but affectionate and capable of unrivaled hugs.

Honestly? You are grossly flawed. You are lowly and imperfect in innumerable ways. Your heart has been broken in so many places you couldn't count them on two hands.

And you are beautiful.

Honestly.