Growing Pains and Grace Notes – Raising A Daughter
Look away if you aren’t the kind of person who likes sentiment. It’s been a long time since I posted one of these stories about my life, my kids, snapshots of us, the Growing Pains and grace notes inside the nutty every day chaos of parenting, and growing youth, not kids, not toddlers, young adolescents.
My girls amaze me more than they know most days. Their strength is apparent to me, their Mom, and yet they very often don’t see it themselves. Some strange warped tween and teen girl mirror only lets them see first the tiny little mistakes, then the itty bitty fleeting things that are but a milli-second in the course of a lifetime. A pimple, an errant curl, a dry patch of skin. This, I know well is teen and tween girl reality. I was a teen girl once and I remember time spent agonizing over tiny, meaningless, things. Things that weigh nothing when you hold them. Things that cannot be held or hugged or loved. I now know though that these are not even a drop in the bucket of lifetime memories.
The other day my beautiful oldest girl asked me as I dropped her off at high school: “What university do you think I should go to?” I wanted to say the one right here. The one that lets you stay here in our home for longer. Instead I did that Mom thing I do where I think first of her and second of me and say: “Ottawa has an amazing bilingual program. Guelph if you truly want to be a veterinarian. Here, if you want to be a teacher because the teaching course here is one of the best.” I add: “Of course there are no bilingual programs here. If you really want to keep your French language skills then Ottawa might be the best option, and it is such a beautiful city.”
And my high school freshman disappears into the school where she spends so much of her time growing her brain, her social circle, becoming all she is meant to be. I am left sitting thinking HOW is it possible a life speeds by this fast? How is it that children defy laws of the universe, breaking barriers of sound and speed, battering a parent’s heart into a different shape. Sometimes Moms get growing pains too.
I dreamed of a baby for so long and then she was there and I spent entire seasons just taking pictures, back in the day before digital photography. Lying beside her on the living room floor shooting pictures on an old Minolta, later to be developed at the local drug store or Costco across town. Every event, every milestone captured in triplicate. First time she reached for a sip cup. Then first roll over. First bike. First day of school.
When I close my eyes I can easily find grade nine awkwardness hidden in one of the regions of my brain. That 14-year-old girl in limbo feeling, of where am I going, what am I doing and why can’t I get there faster? I was that girl. I couldn’t get out of high school fast enough. I read everything I could regarding university. I planned, charted and read. Then I studied university catalogues, both as my nighttime reading material and my dreamy afternoon go to escape. If I wish to be a doctor, I will go here. If I choose to be a lawyer I will go to Toronto area and get into law school and if I want to be a journalist Waterloo then Conestoga College, Ryerson, maybe? Mapping my future out daily, I knew just how it would happen. AND I knew I’d make it happen.
My older daughter is not quite there yet and I thank God for that. We are mostly comfortable. Spacious home, a pool in the yard, a room big enough to dream in and things to do in the meantime. Homework, martial arts, school, babysitting, singing, theatre. So many trips I still hope to take with my family now, and maybe later too, when she is my grownup daughter headed towards a life with her own family.
So many moments right now feature this leading lady Independence and her understudy Teenage Stubbornness. New milestones to meet every week. Sometimes I see results of hard work and parenting and the many sleepless nights. Sometimes I wonder, I hope and I keep repeating the rules, the goals, the lessons hope she takes with her for a life beyond this van, this city and this home.
Growing Pains
There are still a lot of things I want to say to my daughter.
I wish you’d stayed small a bit longer. I wish I’d been able to pick you up into my arms and carry you from the car to your bed at least a dozen more times. Wish you’d fallen asleep curled up on my chest weeks longer. But I’m also happy you grew, learned and walked on time.
I hope you know endless, unconditional love is here in my arms and my heart for you, as long as I am alive and then some. Some days I wonder who feels growing pains more? The mother or the daughter? There are days when you are gone to school, like today, when I swear I can see the future and I start to miss you already before you are even gone.
If I had your ear all day long I would tell you this:
Stop,
Feel,
Breathe,
Take some time just to be,
Taste,
Love,
Hug More,
Draw,
Kiss,
Hold Hands,
Hold on,
Dance,
Twirl,
Laugh,
Read,
Giggle,
But Always Come Back,
Believe,
You are more than enough,
Ignore Pimples, split ends, boys and girls who do not get you,
Be Loud,
Be Proud,
Be Brave,
Be Careful too when the occasion demands it,
Be Smart as You Already are,
Be Creative,
Trust Me When I say that you will be my daughter even when you can’t see me,
Sing,
Let Your Voice Run Free, Because it is a Gift,
Remember to Be,
Just Be,
And Be my girl as long as you can.
13 Comments
Judy Cowan
Great post! They do grow up quick and it is important to cherish every minute of it!
paula schuck
Thank you Judy! I appreciate the comment and I sometimes really cannot believe how fast their childhood has gone.
Elizabeth Matthiesen
An amazing post I enjoyed every word of it, especially the list at the end. The years speed past in a jiffy and in no time they are adults themselves but they are still your children and will remain so forever and a day. Cherish them whilst you have them with you every day. 🙂
paula schuck
I now get this for sure Elizabeth. Funny how when I was a kid and I was maybe heading towards my twenties I couldn’t understand why my Mom still treated me as a child sometimes. I get it now. It goes too fast and she will always be my baby. Both of the girls will always be my babies.
Annemarie LeBlanc
I have only one daughter and it really felt like life just zipped by so quick. Now, she is a mother too and I hope I was able to be the best parent for her.
Lady Lilith
It is amazing how fast the kids grow up. I remember dressing my girls in dresses and now they are making their decisions.
Liz Mays
This is so sweet! I felt similarly when my kids were starting to think about which colleges they wanted to go to.
Jeanine
Love this, very sweet! I can’t believe how quick kiddos grow up. My girls seemed to grow up so quickly, and now are always talking and begging about make up!
Lynda Cook
This was such a great post and yes cherish every moment, before you know it they are grown and off with their own family, I’m still amazed at how fast the years went by and I wish my girls were just toddlers again, but I still love them and now I get to spoil the grandkids!!
Paula
Lynda: I am sure I will love being a grandparent too. 🙂
Kristen from the road to DOmestication
So sweet! I hope she has the chance to read this post!
Paula
I just realized I never really showed it to her. I will share it with her when she comes back from camp. Great idea. Thank you.
Kelly Hutchinson
I just loved this post! I have two girls and although I have given advice over the years, yours is so sweet! I cannot wait to share this with my daughters