Ash London shared a very special message she wrote to remind her son - who might not quite be old enough to understand - to be grateful.
Ash’s little boy, whom she loves “dearly” and calls “the greatest kid”, is about to turn four.
Even though he’s moved past the terrible twos, he’s now in what she calls his three-nager phase - a little defiant, a little stubborn. Despite their best efforts as parents, Ash and her husband Adrien sometimes wish their son could “just be grateful”.
“Are we raising a little brat?” she admitted is a question that’s crossed her mind. “This idea of him being grateful kept swirling around in my mind. Like, I want to raise a grateful child, but how do I do that?”
She realised that he’s still so little that he doesn’t yet understand how amazing his life actually is.
Every morning, Ash writes her son a letter to read when he wakes up, since she’s already blessing our ears while filling in for Meg Mansell on The Edge Breakfast Show.
Yesterday, she wrote the letter she wished she could give him if he were old enough to fully understand how she feels as his mum in these moments.
“Good morning, buddy.
Another day begins, you’ll eat your breakfast, scrambled eggs, a smoothie, maybe even pancakes, and head out the door with a full belly, blissfully unaware of the quiet miracle that is your morning.
You’ll spend your day at kindy painting suns that always shine, building castles in sand that never runs out. Running wild with your friends that you think you’ll know forever, and you’ll believe with your whole heart that this is what life is like for every child.
Last night, you threw your dinner on the floor. I stared at the scattered noodles, swallowing tidal waves of rage.
How could you be so ungrateful?
Later on, you refused to go to bed. In my desperation, I threatened to call Santa (we’ve all been there). But still, your tiny feet danced in defiance down the hallway again and again.
Don't you know how many children have never felt the warmth of their own bed?
Of course, you don't. Not yet. For now, you carry the soft illusion that the world is just and fair.
You believe every home is safe, every parent gentle, every fridge full. You’ve never known the sound of bombs, the ache of hunger, the silence left behind by loss.
In one month, you will turn four. For now, your world is beautifully small. It’s sunny days on bikes, rainy mornings building Lego, FaceTime calls to Grandparents and endless hours spent in the cubby house. It’s blueberry muffins and fluffies, nuggets and chips, but it won’t always be like this.
One day, you’ll be old enough to see the big world out there for yourself.
You’ll see images that can’t be unseen, hear stories that you can’t unhear. One day, you’ll truly understand how lucky you are, and it will break your heart.
So until then, it is me who must carry the knowing, and with it the gratitude. Grateful that you feel safe enough to be wild, that your tantrums bloom in the soil of unconditional love.
That your worst night ends in our bed, not on the streets or in a hospital bed. That your belly is full, your fears are small, and your days are still lit by innocence.
I can be grateful for the chaos, grateful for the mess, grateful that your biggest sorrow is a dinner you didn’t like. A small storm in a life full of sun.
Because beneath the stubborn bedtime tantrums is something rare and precious.
A childhood untouched by pain.
While we live in a world that is anything but perfect, yours for now is wonderfully so.
That is enough to fill me with a lifetime of thanks.”
Ash is going to hold on to the note for the day her son will be able to understand that he and many other kids have “won a lottery of life”.
Plenty of people have already taken on Ash's message and have shared how they relate to her in the comments. Our very own Meg Mansell wrote: "Such a way with words Ash, and how we all feel in those big moments. So beautiful."
"Deep, raw honest and true. How blessed are our babies to not have to endure all of what you mention," said another.
A third added: "I feel so seen with this letter. You're amazing. Xx"
It’s a wonderful perspective and one many of us can take as a great reminder for ourselves.
