To say that my daughter surprises and inspires me daily is an understatement. The obvious humor Kennedy possesses is nothing compared to the gentle soul that frequently expresses empathy for others. I have seen my 2 year old care more for other human beings than some grown folk. By 1 years old she was rubbing the backs of older children who were crying, obvious to their sadness. As her age progressed, so did her awareness of situations with pain and sadness, leaving her to cry at sad songs in movies… obviously my child with that one. She just gets it.
Today I stood in awe from the doorway as I watched my tiny little human, the best thing I have ever created, line her animals and dollies up on the bed to sleep, whisper in their ear and kiss them on their heads. Kennedy beams beautiful from the inside out. She has grace that I cannot explain and question if I can even take credit for.
Of course there are moments when the terrible twos rage their screaming, belligerent heads. Moments where she looses all human like qualities and simply flails on the ground like a sea creature out of water. Oh yes, my darling daughter does that also. But I feel like those moments only help to show the stark contrast that is her soft and gentle nature.
How did this happen? Is it simply who she is or a direct result of our obvious award winning and glorious parenting? Though I obviously kid about the next-to-Godly job I am doing parenting, I do pray that my daughter’s kindness comes at least in part from her interactions with Abasi and I. “Dear God, please allow Abasi and I to continue being the very best parents we can” is a nightly prayer. I only want to do the VERY best I possibly can do for her… nothing more, nothing less.
Hopefully it is a combination though. Hopefully Kennedy’s born nature is working in peaceful unity with the examples she sees not only from Abasi and I, but from her family, friends and surroundings. The simple nature that is our life here in Costa Rica hopefully lends Kennedy to feeling less of the hustle and bustle stress of an over-stimulated world. I certainly have moments that are not in my finest hour, when the stress of the day erupts after washing the 100th plate of the day and the dirty dish water splashes up into my face and over on the floor, leaving me howling out the kitchen window like a crazed wolf. Oh yes, picture it. These moments I would rather prefer her NOT to note for later use.
The moments like today only inspire me to snip my loose ends and tighten up my game. Not because I am trying to be perfect and act like I don’t loose my cool or have moments of being incredibly overwhelmed. I want to simply mirror the beauty that I see in my daughter. If she can learn from my nurture, then why can I not learn from hers?
And if this is the result- this small, beautiful, bundle of empathy, humor and grace than I am humbled, truly humbled, to be her mother, her teacher and her student.
Do You Have a Jungle Princess? 