Delivering Love

Tomorrow my only daughter will be 14. It will pass with limited pomp and circumstance , most of which is exclusively for my benefit and not hers. There will be balloons and banners and wrapped presents by the fireplace, as is our tradition, and there will be much pleading for photographs and memories of the event. This will fall on deaf ears. Rosie is a woman who marches to the beat of her own drum and no amount of pleading or cajoling will move her from her subtlety. The only earthly beings who may demand her affection and the like are her beloved grandparents. For them she will concede. For her mushy mother… not a hope.

Rosie was,in utero, as measured and calm as she is in her day to day life. There was little movement , minimal fuss and she arrived a polite month early ready to take her place in this world. Eleven months after her brother had thundered into our lives with as much drama as any baby could muster I found myself staring into the face of my beloved daughter. She slept. She had no interest in demanding much of her mother other than to be fed and made comfortable. She breastfed like a textbook. She rarely needed to be aided with her digestive tract and she slept quietly without fuss. An understated little human who demanded little and gave much just by her very being.

I’m not sure how long I parented Rosie for, perhaps till she was weaned? I joke of course but  to this momma it feels that independent existence has been her goal from the moment she could express it. By age 3 she took herself off to bed with a cup of tea and an eye mask, perhaps allowing a story to be read, or not. I have visions of this tiny princess perched on the edge of her bed , cup in hand flicking through her book of choice as if she had lived many thousands of more days than she had.

Her character is impeccable, Rosie will never lie to you, honesty is as natural to her as breathing regardless of the impact this may have on herself. To be right is not the same as being in the right and she searches endlessly for sincerity in a manner that humbles me. She has inherited my mother and sisters sharp and honest tongue but alongside that comes their generous and selfless nature. Like the generations before her Rosie will quite literally offer the shirt from her back should the need present itself.

She is the champion of the underdog, even if that means placing herself in a position of obviousness that is far from her shy and retreating spirit. Her manner is cool and thoughtful with a sense of intrinsic understanding much greater than her 14 years. If I may be so bold I might say that she is wise. Yes she has wisdom. That beautiful quality that can be neither learned nor taught but simply ‘is’. What’s more she knows when to and when not to use it.

An agile and willing mind wraps up the package with many talents buried quietly beneath the surface of her unassuming personality. It is not altogether infrequent  that my husband and I learn things from others about our daughter that take us wholly and completely by surprise. Such is her way. The limelight is not her friend and the spotlight far from her companion. She is content with those she loves and fights ferociously for them. It is with these hearts that the ‘boisterous’ daughter of mine can emerge and let loose, their love and acceptance allowing her to be everything she is without fear or trepidation. She values this above any single thing. Loyalty is an absolute in her world.

And so I consider the 14 years that I have had this girl in my life and I am in awe that such a person has anything whatsoever to do with me. I am proud of her not just because she is my daughter but because of who she desires to be. I learn from her every day and I watch expectantly as her future  unfolds. There are no words that I can offer that come  as close as the might of Shakespeare in describing this wonderful child I am permitted to say is mine .. ‘Though she be but little, she is fierce”. I wouldn’t change her for anything.