My Journey Back To You

Dear Leo,

There is a kind of love in this world that defies explanation. It doesn’t falter under pressure. It doesn’t ask for anything in return. It simply gives. Tirelessly. Eternally. That is a mother’s love.

From the moment you were placed on my chest, before the cord was even cut, I knew I would spend the rest of my life loving you more fiercely than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything. That love isn’t conditional on circumstances. It doesn’t shrink in the face of hardship. If anything, it grows. Even now, with an ocean of bureaucracy and injustice trying to stand between us, my love for you only burns brighter.

I would give up everything—my comfort, my freedom, even my body—just to have you back in my arms. And in so many ways, I already have. My body has withered from the weight of this separation. My spirit has been battered by courtroom walls and callous eyes that don’t see the bond we share. But still, I fight. I fight because I am your mother. And there is no limit to what I would sacrifice for you.

But Leo, I must also tell you this: I couldn’t keep fighting if it weren’t for your grandmother—my mother. She is the quiet force holding me up when I collapse in the dark. She is the steady hand that lifts me from despair. Her love has been the scaffolding around my shattered heart. When I feel like giving in to hopelessness, I hear her voice, steady and strong, reminding me who I am. Reminding me that I come from a long line of women who endure, who protect, who love beyond measure.

This Mother’s Day, I think not only of the love I feel for you, but also of the love my mother has poured into me. She gave me life—and continues to give me the strength to live it fully. I owe my resilience to her. My courage. My will to keep going, even when it hurts to breathe. Her love has shown me how to mother you with the same tenacity, the same grace.

There is a tenderness in the bond between mother and child that exists beyond this world. It is timeless. It is sacred. And it is what keeps me standing in this storm.

Someday, you will know the power of this love. Someday, I will tell you how your grandmother helped me fight for you. And someday, when you are grown, I hope you feel it all—the unwavering force of two generations of mothers loving you through every shadow and every sunrise.

With all the love in my heart,
Mommy