Yesterday was my daughter’s birthday. My first born. She was away for her birthday, helping at a camp for the mentally and/or physically handicapped. She volunteers every year at this camp. She always comes home stretched in new ways and saying she may not go back next year. But we both know she will.
She has a gift.
I have posted about my daughter a few times over the years. My Daughter is My Hero is one such post. She still is. She takes the gifts and talents she has been given for granted. She underestimates how powerful they are; how important she is to so many people.
Another gift that emerges every now and then in my daughter’s life is the gift of expressing herself in writing. One Step Too Slow is one such example. She allowed me to share that essay on my blog.
Stuttering has been a part of my daughter’s life for most of her speaking life. This is one of the reasons she is my hero. Stuttering 2 was written, in part, about my daughter. She is so much more fluent than she once was. No one really knows why. No one really cares. No one really knows if the change is permanent or not. It hasn’t changed my daughter at all, except that she is grateful for the opportunity to be more fluent, to speak more easily to those who are listening.
The thing is, I once spent time praying that my daughter would no longer stutter. How selfish. Not selfish because it was for my benefit, but selfish because I thought I knew what was best for my daughter.
Silly me.
I love this woman who was once a babe in my arms. She is one of the best gifts I have ever received. I am grateful for her on many occasions, but yesterday was her birthday and I wanted to take the time to acknowledge how special she is.
The world is a better place because she is in it.
Happy Birthday to my daughter.
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