Saturday, July 18, 2009

My baby girl

On July 8th, my little girl turned 14. She was 12 the first time a waiter offered her a wine list. To say she's growing up too fast is a huge understatement.

I'm amazed by her, daily. She tries so hard to do the right thing all the time. In fact, the other night, she was updating her iPod and came to me to ask which songs on a particular album would be "appropriate."

She's an incredibly talented artist. Her art teacher at school saw her first drawings for his class and said, "Are you sure you're not some 35-year-old artist, planted here to spy on me?" Here's her self-portrait and "nickname":


Yes, she's a percussionist, with the personality to match!

Here's her rendition of me, as an anime character:

It's very flattering. Ha.

If you're familiar with the TV show NCIS, then you might recognize these characters. She drew them as "chibi" characters, which are cute little chunky things.


You get the idea. She's also an imaginative writer, which delights me to no end. She very much has the creative personality, which causes her to have one foot in the world of her imagination most of the time. I'm afraid something had to give, and it was the tidiness factor. My darling Daughter leaves a trail of stuff everywhere she goes, which comes as a huge surprise to her each time someone points it out.

The fact that she isn't a little girl anymore was driven home to me last week. No, not because of her birthday, but because of something she said.

With my sister visiting with her kids right now, Daughter has given up her room. She stays in my room now, sharing my bed each night. I look forward to getting ready for bed every night, and the wondrous chatter of the day that she lets loose on me. I love every syllable, even as I wonder if the child breathes.

So, we're laying in bed, watching "Ghost Adventures." The guys are about to go into lockdown in an abandoned prison. They are looking through a ledger that lists each death that occurred at the place, and the cause of death.

One poor bastard is listed for eternity as having died of masturbation.

They point this out and move on. I'm a little thankful she hasn't asked about it, when Daughter says, "So, how does someone die of that?"

I laughed. "I don't know," I said. "Probably, this poor guy had a heart attack or something during it and was found that way, so they wrote it down for all of the world to remember him for it."

Daughter is laughing hysterically, "Poor guy!" She settles down and the room is quiet again, except for the TV.

"So," she says. "Now, I want to see them get one of their creepy voice recordings of a man's voice, saying, 'Let's get something straight here...I did not!'"

Now, I'm laughing hysterically. I didn't realize she knew what masturbation was in the first place, and now she's making jokes about it.

See? Constantly amazed. Our home is a crowded and over-run place right now, but I treasure the nights and weekend mornings with her and our peas-in-a-pod moments.

I watch her now, and she's a young woman. A spectacular young woman, with a bright, sensitive personality that I pray serves her well. And I especially pray that she finds a man who appreciates all of that about her, encourages her and never squelches her, inspires her, and truly is by her side for the journey.

She still calls me Mommy.

And no matter what the years bring, I will always see her as she is in this photo.

10 comments:

37paddington said...

Your daughter sounds lovely and your relationship so precious. Those late night talks, like you're having a girls sleepover, are the best! Enjoy, enjoy.

Ronjazz said...

Makes my impression of your life right now a whole lot clearer! This young lady is, indeed, a real prize. You should be absolutely proud of yourself...

And anyone who dies of masturbation simply isn't doing it right...

Glitterstim said...

Angella -- so true. Before we were invaded by extended family, she used to ask for "mommy sleepover" nights! I soak up every minute.

Ron -- Thank you! And LOL -- you're right!

Fire Byrd said...

How lovely to be having this time with your daughter. Our kids grow up so fast. Blink and we've missed them.
xx

Glitterstim said...

Too true, Byrd. I think of how fast these 14 years have gone, and it makes me feel so....mortal. I just want to soak up every moment I can!

Thanks!
:o) BJ

Ve!! said...

Your relationship with your daughter makes me ache for children.

I've thought that at other times reading your blog, but not said it . . . so I thought I'd pop in to say it this time around.

At 33, the tick tock of my biological clock is already very pronounced . . . and a miscarriage in October only exagerates the sound more . . . but the words you used to describe the love you have for your wonderful daughter push me over the edge.

Congratulations on having raised such a wonderful, talented, and beautiful person . . . who is growing up too fast.

Glitterstim said...

Ve -- I ache for you! I'm so sorry about the miscarriage. I hope all is well with you now, and you find all you want.

Thanks so much for sharing and for being here!

:o) BJ

Ve!! said...

Um . . . Blogget . . .

where'd you go?

12 full days without a post seems cruel and unusual punishment.

Walker said...

Now this is a proud momma post and with good cause.
She is very talented and respectful from the sounds of it.

They grow up fast and they surprise you when you least expect it.

Glitterstim said...

Ve -- I'm sorry. Lots of pain lately, which makes "me" time at the computer difficult. As do the drugs...lol

Walker -- VERY true!! She's a constant amazement to me!