A Daughter

Yes! those are my real eyebrows, lol.

I am mother to two sons and I am a daughter as well.

I have also been blessed with a daughter of my own.

I was the first child of my mother and first grandchild of both grandparents. Perhaps there is, as believed, a certain sense of responsibility that comes along with being the first child of the next generation.

I was not always the greatest daughter to my mother. As a teenager I had a slight rebellious period. No drinking or anything heavy, I was at that time, I believe, developing into myself so we had our conflicts. 

Rebellion took the form of hair coloring and nose piercing at age 14. Perhaps that was the first clue I would be in healthcare. I also developed a penchant for midriff-bearing tops.

My friend Nia’s mom was a nurse and since she wanted her nose pierced as well, she snuck 2 sutures from her mom.

I fearlessly pierced her nose one day after school. Then went on home and did my own in the bathroom mirror. Yikes!

I cannot recall the horror my mother must have felt. Ugh. If my daughter did that she would have to remove it pronto!

My mother is by definition “A lady”, she is the embodiment of that phrase. Soft spoken, gentle, non-confrontational, a meticulously presented person woman, never any obscene language…I told you a lady.

She is now in her seventy first year of life and still is the same way.

I was allowed to wear my piercing until like every immature child wanting instant gratification I lost interest and took it out.

Now my daughter is quite unlike myself at that age. She is intelligent, beautiful, confident and sometimes way too outspoken. New age kids.

She says things I would never dare say now and would not have said back then.

I was raised in a somewhat male ‘elevated’ society and its practices never ‘sat’ well with me.

So I taught my daughter (children) to have a mind of their own.

It backfires on me sometimes.

A daughter is a precious gift. I prayed very hard for a girl. I am happy and blessed that God gave me a daughter. 

It was relatively easy raising my oldest, a son, now 23 yrs old and snookums my youngest son at 7 yrs is proving to be easy as well.

It is way more challenging raising a girl. More it seems to teach, more conflicts, more worry, more watching and more spending.

My mother is and always has been my best friend, she currently lives with us and most days, most, it’s like perennially living with a best friend.

She is there for my kids as well as and oftentimes better than I could. I leave for work secure in the knowledge that she is the next best mom when I cannot be there. This allows me the freedom to be completely present in my work.

She was/is a teacher and has been the main teacher for the children. I tend to be impatient, I expect them to learn it at first take. She does it so much better. 

The roles are being reversed, and now she, my mother, is becoming more like a daughter but apparently that’s the order of things.

She will always have a home with me and I plan on being an excellent daughter, most days, I believe that I am.

My mother, my best friend, the keeper of my secrets. The one person I know besides God that loves me unconditionally.

Someday, I hope that my daughter thinks of me the same way. That she knows that after God, grandma and I love her with the purest of all loves.

As a daughter I pray that my daughter comes into the fullness of her definition of being a daughter.

May God continue to cause His face to shine on and be gracious to us mothers and grandmothers and all women! Amen. (I wrote this for mother’s day, but decided not to post it)

And may God bless everyone!