Wednesday, August 12, 2009

my birthday grrrrrl....

happy birthday to my sweet new 14 year old girl...

there are things i want to write
like how 13 has been a test for both of us...
how major milestones have come along...
how things change and waver and the
lines i drew so firmly around you
when you were younger
now seem to be drawn in sand...
they can be erased, they can be moved
i realize now they cannot be set in stone...

not if i want you to grow.

i could write about how hard that part is for me...
the letting you grow part....
how i wish sometimes i could keep you
with me...
laying on the couch in front of me,
happy to be watching big comfy couch
and franklin
with my arm over you...
reassurance for both of us.

but...
at the same time
you amaze me with your tenacity,
your will and ways of thinking...
you are brilliant and creative and funny...
sweet and kind and caring...
you look out for your brother
{though you would pretend not to...}
and you look out for your friends...
you are smart and mature and
i trust you.

what more could i ask?

happy birthday to
my 80's lovin', picnik-addicted, mr noodle-eatin',
horror-movie-junkie, full of wise cracks and
dripping with sarcasm & yet can surprise you
with unexpected sweetness...

i wouldn't change a thing about you.

xo

7 comments:

ELK said...

oh mom you are blessed with a new 14 year old happy birthday to you BOTH...these years are memorable ...

misty said...

sigh. she is so beautiful.
how bittersweet it is to watch our little tiny babies grow into little people and then into bigger people. it breaks my heart to see them getting bigger,but i am loving every single second of it, too.
such a sweet post, thank you for sharing it here.
happy birthday to your daughter and to you!

Nat said...

I got all teary reading this. I was laying in bed next to The Boy, the few snuggles I get lately ... and I remember clearly just a few summers ago when he used to fit so clearly against me... and how soon it all changes...

She's beautiful...
Happy Birthday to her...

christina said...

She is beautiful! Such bittersweetness! To remember them as little girl and to see them become young women!

daisies said...

its such transitions for them and for us, beautiful and wonderous and bittersweet and yes sometimes really hard but i spent last friday with my newly turned 15 and we shopped and had lunch and the teenage boy seemed more a man, a friend and in a moment i felt as though the universe was exactly how it should be ... no more franklin cuddles and wiping away tears and kissing boo boos but something else, a fit that is deeper than all that yet formed because of all that ...

this is beautiful .. i hope her 14 is full of growth and beauty, xo

spread your wings said...

this touches me. such a wonderful and exciting age I think - bittersweet for sure.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful. So well written, so many, "I know, I feel like that too with my 14 year old"....

Thank you.
And happy birthday to your BEAUTIFUL girl.