Stronger, Smarter, More Courageous

A friend told me to remember this photo and caption from my Instagram feed yesterday.  Solid advice.

She didn't want to go down the hill because she worried she wouldn't make it back up. She did. Daughter, you are stronger than you think you are.

Every so often, I am granted windows of time when my brain chatter quiets itself long enough for me to slow down and meditate on exactly what it is that's going on around me, and why it's important.  If I could freeze these hours / days / weeks and keep myself perpetually in the present, I would seriously earn that World's Best Mom coffee mug.

As it turns out, however, I am human.  Brain chatter included.

So I'll take these short moments of clarity, and try to jam as much nurturing into them as I can.

Daughters.  They're tricky, aren't they?

Too much Disney Princess exposure and you risk warping her impression of beauty and femininity.

Too many youlooksolovely's and she might believe her appearance to be the only thing that matters.  We do our best to use lovely interchangeably with strong and courageous and smart.  But I would lie if I told anyone that I don't love fixing my girls' hair / painting their nails / buying their clothes.

Tricky.

Parenting Noah seems somehow simpler.  For me.  Maybe because I can already feel him leaning into Kevin to learn about life.  The pressure for me is just to keep him in attendance at piano lessons once a week.

The game of LIFE, in which Noah typically chooses to be an athlete, and Greta a salesperson.  Friend, Owen, was also roped into the game this day.  None of us has ever made it to retirement.

I am fortunate that my daughters have surrounded themselves with brilliant lady role models.  Grandmothers, a GREAT grandmother, aunts, teachers and friends - somehow others seems to know how to fill in the gaps keeping me from being the World's Best Mom.

Daughters, even if I have cuddled you longer than I should have or told you your dress was beautiful when I should have applauded your brilliance at applying your own shoes or treated you differently from your brother when really you deserved to be treated the same - forgive me.  I am still trying to grow into the best girl I can be too.