My daughter turns seventeen today! Seventeen isn’t a milestone birthday for anything in particular; you don’t start school, or get your license or become legal to drink, but it is very important to me. I did many things in my life before I got married and started a family, and at the age of 38 I was truly blessed with a daughter!
She would say I have been a great mom but I haven’t felt that way myself and maybe all mom’s think they could always do better. I like the way we are and even if she wasn’t my daughter I would want to be her friend. I admire her courage, integrity, spontaneity, intellect, height (she is 5 inches taller than me), tenacity, spunk, opinions, and heart.
For the past seventeen years I believe I have been more the student and she the teacher. At each stage I have learned valuable lessons from her and in honor of her birthday am sharing some with all of you.
Lessons I’ve Learned from My Daughter
- Onions are round and look like a ball, but they don’t bounce very well.
- Even though powdered cocoa looks like chocolate, it doesn’t taste near as good!
- Pumpkins are round and look like a ball, but they don’t bounce very well either. (And it is very embarrassing to your mother if you choose to try it out on live television!)
- Just because you like peaches one day, doesn’t mean they won’t end up on the floor the next.
- Spoons are nice, but sometimes your hand works better when you’re really hungry.
- Boxes of cake mixes make great building blocks and step stools.
- My most expensive silk negligee looks better on a toddler as a Halloween costume than it ever did on me.
- A piece of masking tape can occupy a person for at least 10-15 minutes.
- Sliding on the tile floor in your stocking feet is really fun.
- Everything doesn’t have to be done a certain way to be right.
- Relaxing is not a crime.
- You can accept others easier if you accept yourself.
- Perfectionism is overrated.
- Family traditions are important and very comforting.
- We can agree to disagree and still be okay.
- Mom’s aren’t always right and that’s okay too.
- It is fun to share makeup and clothes!
- Families are happier with a puppy in the house.
- Privacy is important!
- You never get too old to need your Mom.
- We will learn from each other the rest of our lives.
Leave a Reply