The Gift of a Daughter

When I was preganant with Isabelle and only had my two wonderful boys, I never thought I needed a daughter. I mean, what's the big deal!! "Boys are easier," I consoled myself regularly. When the ultrasound tech said, "It looks like a girl," I about fell off the table. I cried uncontrollably. I was simultaneously shocked, overjoyed, and scared out of my wits!!
And then she came ....
That first time I held her .... it was like holding me. I had this little look-alike with big blue eyes, a heart shaped face, and a contagious smile. She was (and is) my shadow. I was scared having a daughter (and still am on some days) because the responsibility seems so big and the relationship so tenuous and yet incredibly precious.
With a daughter I tend to want a bit of curl in my hair. With a daughter, pink is no longer such a bad color (in fact I'm wearing it today). With a daughter I tend to check myself more frequently -- my voice, my attitude, my priorities.
Having a daughter has changed my life.
I remember not long after she was born, I was cleaning (dusting really) the boxes of keepsakes in my closet. I came across the box that my wedding dress is preserved in. Literally forgetting what was in it, I opened it and gasped -- "I have a daughter now. If she wanted to, she could wear this!" It was like a sudden realization of a whole new world opened up to me of possibilities and responsibilities. Weddings, makeup, boyfriends, girlfriends, hurt feelings, tea parties, ballet, gymnastics, periods, hormones, grandchildren, cooking, cleaning, gardening, teaching, traveling, reading Anne of Green Gables, watching all those "girl movies" ..... a whole new world.
And so, today on her 6th birthday, I say thank you to my precious, precious little shadow with a zest and zeal for life all her own. What a gift! Thank you God, for the joy of it all.