Having a Daughter
These thoughts have been bouncing around in my head for days, and I've wondered whether it was worth posting or not. I want to record it for posterity, so here it is. Before I write, though, let me add this disclaimer: I love all of my kids, and I have LOVED everything about having little boys! They continue to be a joy, and I look forward to the years I have ahead with them just as much as I look forward to the future with their sister.
I still replay the moment when the ultrasound tech said, "It looks like a little girl." Even after a year and a half with her, I find myself looking at her, shaking my head in amazement that I have a little girl! She has been so much fun--all the sugar and spice and sweetness I could have hoped for and then some. She's appropriately interested in girl things (although she makes a mean car sound and can tackle her brothers pretty effectively!). She loves dolls, her tea set, and singing and dancing. She gets excited when I put her in a dress and fluffs her little skirt. She squeals when she sees jewelry, and wants to try it on. All of these things spell bliss for me. I am soaking up every girlie little moment!
With all three kids, I reached a point as we emerged from the baby stage when I realized this child was mine for life: not just a tiny baby, but a person who would grow and reveal themselves over the next many, many years. It sounds a little silly, but with all three of them it was an incredible realization and took my relationship with them to another level. I'm in that stage with Cora. She's not just a baby anymore, and I'm seeing her own personality develop and show itself. And as it does, it's slowly dawning on me that I have a daughter for life. Next year, when Thomas goes to preschool, it will be just us girls at home. What will we do? What will we talk about? She follows me into my room when I get ready in the mornings, reaching for my make-up and trying to imitate what I'm doing. I look at her and think, "Someday I'll teach you how to wear it. We'll have conversations about how to do your hair, how to put on makeup, how to dress up." We'll go shopping together and she'll twirl and show me the outfits she's picked out. Someday she'll tell me about her friends at school, and maybe even the boys she's noticed. We'll pick out her prom dress together. Someday we may pick out her wedding dress. I have a lifetime ahead of me with a daughter!
I never would have admitted it before she was born, and it's not that my life was lacking anything significant before her. But Cora fills my life in a way no one else ever has. The joy of having a daughter--my own daughter--is something I couldn't have anticipated. I am cherishing every little moment, and thanking God often for the extravagant gift of a little girl. Is there anything sweeter than this?
I still replay the moment when the ultrasound tech said, "It looks like a little girl." Even after a year and a half with her, I find myself looking at her, shaking my head in amazement that I have a little girl! She has been so much fun--all the sugar and spice and sweetness I could have hoped for and then some. She's appropriately interested in girl things (although she makes a mean car sound and can tackle her brothers pretty effectively!). She loves dolls, her tea set, and singing and dancing. She gets excited when I put her in a dress and fluffs her little skirt. She squeals when she sees jewelry, and wants to try it on. All of these things spell bliss for me. I am soaking up every girlie little moment!
With all three kids, I reached a point as we emerged from the baby stage when I realized this child was mine for life: not just a tiny baby, but a person who would grow and reveal themselves over the next many, many years. It sounds a little silly, but with all three of them it was an incredible realization and took my relationship with them to another level. I'm in that stage with Cora. She's not just a baby anymore, and I'm seeing her own personality develop and show itself. And as it does, it's slowly dawning on me that I have a daughter for life. Next year, when Thomas goes to preschool, it will be just us girls at home. What will we do? What will we talk about? She follows me into my room when I get ready in the mornings, reaching for my make-up and trying to imitate what I'm doing. I look at her and think, "Someday I'll teach you how to wear it. We'll have conversations about how to do your hair, how to put on makeup, how to dress up." We'll go shopping together and she'll twirl and show me the outfits she's picked out. Someday she'll tell me about her friends at school, and maybe even the boys she's noticed. We'll pick out her prom dress together. Someday we may pick out her wedding dress. I have a lifetime ahead of me with a daughter!
I never would have admitted it before she was born, and it's not that my life was lacking anything significant before her. But Cora fills my life in a way no one else ever has. The joy of having a daughter--my own daughter--is something I couldn't have anticipated. I am cherishing every little moment, and thanking God often for the extravagant gift of a little girl. Is there anything sweeter than this?
