Thursday, March 13, 2014

Better Late than Never: A Letter to my Princess Monkey

Dear Daisy, 

The other afternoon I went to get started cleaning up and prepping for dinner while you and your sister played dress up in the family room. You acted out the story from Tangled and then added a few of your quirky twists, and soon the two of you were giggling and laughing and having so much fun. 

One day we will live under different roofs. One day life will take you both away from here, expose you to fantastic new ideas, tug you in exciting new directions and these days will be distant memories. So while I soak up these moments, I find myself hoping that they are enough to build you a strong foundation of love, respect and sisterhood between the two of you. May you always delight in one anothers company. May you always appreciate making each other laugh. 

May you always be the very best of friends.
Besides spending half our day engaged in imaginative play, your literacy development has really started to take off. Most notably your recognition of words and vowels and a sight words. You love to trace and sound out letters, but your favorite is to play rhyming games. I love watching you learn. I love fostering your passion for language. A few months ago we picked up the Draw Write Now book and you ended up spending almost two hours look at the instructions and trying to mimic the illustrations. 

While your language and physical development is crucial, I find your kindness and ability to love even more amazing. Mother Teresa once said, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” And to me, this quote perfectly describes you. You constantly want to help those who need helping, and do so with a smile on your face and a light from your heart. You love to teach and encourage your sister. You two sit at the breakfast table while you quiz her on colors; when she gets them wrong you gently explain why. When she gets them right, you praise and cheer her on. And this encouragement extends beyond your family and friends, but to those around you. Last week while at the playground a little girl had fallen and scraped her knee and was crying. You stopped playing, walked over and and put your arm around her shoulders and asked if you could help. You have such an ability for compassion and innate skill for making others feel connected and cared for. It astonishes me each and every day. 

When you are struggling with something - anything from fighting with your sister to asking for a big brother - you have started praying. And sweetheart, I cannot tell you how proud this makes me. I love watching you develop a relationship with Jesus and learning to trust him first with your prayers. For me, this is something I work on every day and I hope, nay pray, that you continue to walk in faith. A few months ago, you asked me what the meaning of grace was, we talked about the two different meanings, both secular and related to theology. You have been obsessed with understanding God’s grace, and honey, after nearly 34 years I can barely comprehend it myself. 

I know that we tell you this ALL. THE. TIME., but your father and I love you, darling girl. We love you with a thousand beating hearts and you are such a light in our world. We love watching you grow, we love watching your spread your wings, and we love watching you fly. 
Love, 
Momma