The Mrs Club

Sunday, June 15, 2008 On Father's day...A love letter

I believe children are a gift.

My daughter is a gift. It’s like God saw inside my soul and sent me exactly what I needed to heal it. What am I saying? Of course He did. She is the best possible permutation of me and my husband at that particular moment, and when we have more children, should we be so blessed then they will be just as perfect…for…us.

How can I explain how my heart fills up, when she tells me “Mummy I love you” or pulls my hands saying, “come, dance like me”. This child filled with passion and who throws herself at life whether it be the pure joy of watching the white flakes of powder fall around the room as she shakes the container wildly or the simple pleasure of running in the grass in our backyard as she chases down a butterfly.

This child of mine

I could never have known that at two, she would mother me. Dry my tears, pick out my shoes and kiss my cheeks. She teaches me how to live, I summon up the courage to follow her. To demand simply and plaintively what I want and need. “Carry me like a baby please, I want to go to sleep”, “I need juice now…pleezeeee!”
To have and celebrate the ability to love without reservation or fear; I learn from her.

She doesn’t care that my blouse is streaked with stew, but she will often proffer fashion advice. Wear this one mummy, it’s Amarillo! Her favorite color, yellow, though she prefers the way it sounds in Spanish. Must be the way it feels in her mouth as she says it. Filling up every possible space and pushing out into the world.

This child of mine

This bridge between people; She reminds us of the best in ourselves. She has my husband’s laugh and my smile. I recognize the sparkle in her eye and though the way she frames it with a coy flutter of her lashes is hers alone, it’s familiar. I fell in love with her father when he looked at me that way. The way she reaches for me, unafraid of rejection. The way she walks into a room. Bold, sure, confident. The girl get liver. The way she can sense people’s needs and without hesitation meets them. “Aunty, hug me” then just as simply “you feeling better?” She has made me cry while laughing, she is so beautiful.

I long to see the world through her filter. Everything is brand new. Every question has an answer. A schoolbus is more special than a Mercedes. Filet Mignon ain’t got nothing on Mac and cheese and Okro soup is the truth. Singing is the new golfing and shaking your bombom beats shopping. Every morning brings unending possibilities “Come on, Mummy get up. Let’s go out!”

All children are a gift.
Let’s all find the grace to unwrap them.

Posted by Naija Babe :: 11:11 PM :: 14 comments