When she was a little girl, I would watch her scramble up our bulky, age-worn sofa with those skinny legs of hers. She would climb until she was perched on top of it like a baby chickadee. She'd slowly stand and survey the toy-cluttered landscape of the living room. Then--and this was always the best part--with a flick of her ponytail and an over-the-shoulder glance at Camren (who was often sitting contentedly on the floor, playing), she'd yell, "Watch and learn, baby!"
And then...she would jump.
I have come to believe her fire--her spicy ferocity and inextinguishable sass --is what gave her the courage to take that first leap. (And continue to leap again and again after that.)
As she grows and matures into a lovely, smart woman, I hope and pray she never loses her fire. When she is told she's not good enough, when she feels she's not pretty enough, when she wonders and worries, when she loves and loses, when she doubts herself, when she doesn't make the grade, when she feels lost or down-trodden, when a man breaks her heart, when disappointment outweighs hope on life's scale, I hope she climbs high above it. I hope courage and strength and an instilled and unabashed belief in her own magnificence will give her the confidence to jump; to overcome her unique challenges.
I hope she'll remember to say to the world, "Watch and learn!" Because God did not send her to earth to fail.
With a little bit of faith, she'll soar.
I always love reading your words. I bet with a mom like you she will always know who she is, and whose she is!
ReplyDeleteIncredible. You put so eloquently what i wish for my girls as well!
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