Happy 17th…
Today, Danielle turned 17 years old. I can’t believe how much time has gone by. I mean wow…17 already? I do still remember, very vividly, holding her in my arms, singing, “You are my Sunshine” and rocking her to sleep. In many way I am so proud of her and everything she has accomplished. And in several ways I am disappointed and scared. I always thought of Dani as my successful one. Things flowed more easily for her. She enjoyed school more. I thought she’d be the one to go to college and then get that big corporate job somewhere. That might still happen…but she’s in a stage right now where her education isn’t very important to her. And of course she won’t listen to me, since I am the dumbest person she’s ever met and I have no clue, whatsoever, as to what life for a teenage girl is like. So I have to sit here and hope that everything I said… all the lessons I’ve tried to teach her… will get through and stick. I’m almost out of time to make that impression on her. Now I just have to hold my breath and wait.
- She needs to know that life is give and take. But that most people she runs into will expect her to give first before they will.
- She needs to know that the mature responsible ones; yeah they usually have more work and people expect more of them and yeah it’s not really fair… but most of the time, in the end, the rewards are larger for them because people see how hard they worked and how much they have earned it.
- She needs to get used to the fact that life is NOT fair… but it is what you make it. If you stay positive and surround yourself with loved ones.. life will be rewarding and fulfilling. OR you can bitch, moan and whine about how unfair things are and you will be miserable and unfulfilled.
- She needs to remember that the only person in this world that can make her life good or bad… is HER. She has all of the power and all of the control to make life what she wants… but nothing is free or easy. Life takes work.
I want to see her grow up, be happy and be successful in whatever she wants out of life. I hope that I have done a good enough job, that I have given her the tools she needs to make that all happen. I hope each day that she will soon come out of that “teenage tunnel of emotional drama” and on the other side she will be a happy, well adjusted adult. I want the world to be a wonderful place for her. I want her to enjoy each day and to start it with a smile.
Happy 17th Birthday Danielle…. the world is your oyster!
This entry was posted on Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 7:02 pm and is filed under Baby Talk, Celebrations, Emotional Me, Family Ties, Just Me, Parenting Perspectives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.