Daughter: a female child or person in relation to her parents.
I have a daughter. I am a daughter.
Raising a child (or children) is not easy. There was no “how to” parenting book when I had my daughter on my birthday back in 2003.
There are moments that I wish I could go back to, rewind, and hit pause. There are moments that I definitely do not want to fast forward to like graduation, college, and a wedding.
We go through moments with our children where we feel like we may want to pull our hair out, we cry with them when they are sad or upset (or brokenhearted), we laugh and giggle with them, jump for joy when they are so happy and excited to make the softball team, get a part in the school play, and get a learner’s permit (that license is coming soon, though).
And while we have ups and downs with our daughters (and sons), we realize that our kids are real people, young adults with emotions and feelings. Our kids need us to be their safe place. We are the keepers: keeper of the schedule, keeper of the secrets, keeper of the laundry, the keeper of the allowance, and we sometimes forget to realize that our kids might be easily embarrassed.
When arguments or disagreements seem exhausting, we sometimes forget that we are the ones who have to help our children through the tough times. Encouraging talks, late night chats, sleepovers in your own home when you sometimes just need your mom (and now that my kids are older, they sometimes want this more).
I hope my daughter knows that she has the confidence to grow and soar, although she may feel like her wings are clipped and she’s never going to be able to fly.
I hope my daughter knows that she’s made of amazing stuff, determination, grit, compassion, and a heart of gold.
I hope my daughter knows that even if times seem really rough, I’ve always got her back.
She can handle more than she ever thought possible.
She can survive the teenage years.
She will become an amazing young woman who wants to chase her dreams.
She is a gift.
Although she reminded me about National Daughter’s Day, I hope she knows how much she is loved, appreciated, and cared for, not just on some day that is designated for her as a daughter, but every day.
Everything is going to be alright, K. You are going to be okay. You are going to be great.
