As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
(Solomon Ibn Gabirol)

Daughters warm your heart.

From the day they are born until the day you hand them over into someone else’s care.
A daughter is truly a blessing, a gift from God.

What do you do when a nervous young man asks your permission to marry your angel?
When you know her heart and wings have already flown into his nest. When you know this nervous young man is worthy of her love? You rejoice.

The happiness you feel is twofold, the first is recognition that she has finally grown up and chosen a partner to accompany her on the most important journey of her life.
The second is inheriting and welcoming a son into that special room in your heart which has held a reserved sign from the day she was born.

There hasn’t been one day of my life since my daughter was born when I haven’t felt my heart leap when she smiles. There hasn’t been one day when I’ve had to dry her childhood tears and not feel my heart breaking.

All the years in between birth and maturity when she was my baby, my child, my teenager and then like the petals of a rose unfolding she took on an extra role as my friend.

When did she become wise, was it suddenly one morning before she went to school? Was it when she graduated from college, or was it when she fell in love? I don’t know, I didn’t see it happen. The time went by so quickly, all of a sudden the wisdom was in her eyes and she held my hand, instead of me holding her hand.

‘Till now I have looked at her face and seen the beautiful child emerge like a butterfly into a beautiful woman. It’s her face but now I see slight reflections of my own in her smile, are we both looking into the same mirror, can she see what I see when she looks at me?

There are times I hear her voice and I hear me, does she know at times she is herself and at times her mother. Does she know when she has her first child she will see reflections of herself, her mother and her grandmother. The mirror has so many layers, so many reflections, and so much history.

This beauty was born a miracle with wings and has never ceased to be miraculous. All I ever wanted was for her to soar, to fly and find her place, her own space to grow. Now she has found a love that can fly with her over new horizons, building their own nest with the fragrant leaves of Spring.

I am lucky to be inheriting another mother’s son who has grown into a man of integrity, morality and humour. I thank his mother for giving birth to him and encouraging him to become the man he is. The happy couple compliment each other in every way and I pray they spend the rest of their lives loving and respecting each other as they do today.

Wedding plans are under way, both of them know what they want. There are no disagreements and parents have been gently placed in the background allowing them to enjoy creating their special day without any interference. It is their day, not ours; we are there to give them away with our blessing. How can we ever do that?  I can give her my blessing, but never give her away.

I was proud and delighted when they both asked me to write something for them and read it at their wedding. It was as if I was the child and they had handed me a bag of sweets.
I even laughed when her fiancée remarked,”we’ll have to have a contract with your mother; otherwise she’ll create a novel and will be reading it for two days!”
How does he know I have difficulty keeping to a word count?  For a moment I thought he had been comparing notes with my esteemed Editor?

Last night I started to write.
I only reached the second sentence when I burst into tears. By the time I arrived at the fifth sentence I needed hospitalisation and a rehydrating drip.
All I had written was: I heard my baby’s first heart beat, her first cry, her first laugh and first word. I let go of her hand to allow her to take her first step, I put her first tooth in a velvet lined box next to her first curl. I took her to school on her first day and cried silently when she let go of my hand and walked into the school turning around smiling and blowing me a kiss. I taught her how to care for other people’s feelings and how to guard her own.

I haven’t even got to the part yet of how much I cherish her and thank God every day for the moments we have shared and the joy she gives to everyone who experiences her smile. She will always be my past, always be my present but now there are two of them who will be part of my future.
Sorry I can’t write any more I’m too emotional and going over my word count “AGAIN.”

To be continued: (After the wedding).

As the wise man once told me:

The secret of teaching your child love is to love yourself.
The secret of teaching your child happiness is to laugh yourself.
The secret of honouring your child is to allow her to fly.
 

By E. Moon