There’s a girl in the rearview mirror.

This is her first time in a car. She’s sleeping soundly after recovering from her grand entrance into the world. We’ve just met, but I already love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life.

“We’ve just met, but I already love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life.” (tweet this)

There’s a girl in the rearview mirror.

She can’t stop talking about how much fun she had at school. She loves her teacher. She loves her new friends. She loves music class. She loves laughing with her friends at lunch.  I’m so proud of her as she begins this great adventure. But my heart aches a little bit.

There’s a girl in the rearview mirror.

She’s sitting with her two besties. They are singing and talking and taking selfies. The freckles sprinkled across her nose are those of my little girl, but her legs are bumping against the back seat. She’s not a baby, but she’s not a grown up. I watch her stumble a lot, and it’s hard. But I’m proud of the young lady she’s becoming.

There’s a girl in the rearview mirror.

She isn’t talking as much these days. She sits quietly in the back seat texting her friends. It seems that I’m always dropping her off somewhere. I wish she was home more often. I miss her.

There’s a girl in the rearview mirror.

She’s quiet on the four hour drive to college. Almost everything she owns is in the trunk. I tell her everything is going to be great, but my heart is ripping apart. I’m not ready for this.

There’s an empty spot in the rearview mirror.

There used to be a girl there that I love more than anything in the world. She has her own car now. She lives in the city and has a job that she loves. She calls me every Sunday and comes for dinner once a month. I miss her terribly, but I’m so, so proud of her.

There’s a girl in the rearview mirror.

She has freckles sprinkled across her nose and she calls me grandma.

Image: Sam Manon-Marwitz

The post The Girl in the Rearview Mirror appeared first on Advice for My Daughter.

Once upon a time, there was a man and a woman who dreamt of having a child. There were days when it seemed that it would never happen, but they kept hoping and praying that one day, they would hear cries in the middle of the night…cries for them.

And one day…they did.

And I still can’t believe that you are real. That you are my child. That you call me mommy.

But you do. It’s real.

So, I want you to know how grateful I am and how my breath catches by some of the littlest things. I am a mom to a little girl and these are the things I treasure:

• Little yellow rain boots by the back door
• Crumbs in the back seat of the car
• Monster High stickers on my coffee table
• Rocks in my purse
• A refrigerator covered in drawings
• Saturday mornings when I don’t get to sleep in
• Katy Perry blasting in the car
• Rocks on the kitchen table
• A chair for one, that now squeezes in two
• Spontaneous dance parties
• Weekly trips to the library, loaded down with books
• Long blonde hair in my hairbrush
• Knock Knock jokes that don’t make sense
• Rocks next to my bed
• A bathroom cabinet filled with cotton balls and leaves for the fairies
• Chalk on the sidewalk
• Cartoons on the TV
• Chasing down the ice cream truck
• Kisses that work like medicine
• The tiny toothbrush next to the sink
• Glitter….everywhere
• Smiles that change with new teeth
• The endless stream of “mommy…mommy…mommy”

When you are wishing for a child, it’s these little things that you dream of. Many of these “annoying” things are the greatest gifts I could ever imagine.

For my birthday last year, my husband bought me my first Prada bag. It is now filled with rocks, colorful band-aids, and sugar packets.

And I couldn’t be happier.

Image by Rob MacEwen

The post The Little Things That Take My Breath Away appeared first on Advice for My Daughter.

I’ll never know you as an old woman.

My job as a mother is not to teach you to be an amazing kid, but to teach you to be an extraordinary adult. I want to guide you so that when you are an old woman, you will look back on your life and feel that it was well lived.

These are the things I wish for you when you become an old woman:

When your hair turns silver and your skin turns a bit sallow, I hope that your eyes shine as brightly as they do today.(tweet this)

I hope your happy memories outweigh your worries.

I hope you dance…even if it’s slowly.

I hope the world is good and that kind people surround you.

I hope you have a companion, be it a partner, a child or a friend.

I hope the mistakes you’ve made in life have been long forgotten and the bright spots sparkle.

I hope you found a unicorn.

I hope you celebrated every birthday with those that you love.

I hope you travelled and laughed and sang at the top of your lungs.

I hope you did work that you loved, that you helped people and that you prayed daily.

I hope you aren’t in too much pain.

I hope you let your kids stay up late so that you could snuggle under the covers and tell each other secrets. I hope you have grandchildren and that they talk…constantly.

As the years pass, my greatest wish is that I taught you well. That you were able to fight when you needed to and give in when you wanted to. That you helped others and were kind to yourself.

I hope you shine.

I know you’ll shine.

And I hope. I really, really hope….that I taught you well.

Like this? Click here to purchase one to hang in your home.

Image by Tim Hamilton

The post A Letter To My Daughter As An Old Woman appeared first on Advice for My Daughter.