What My Daughter Has Taught Me
A few weeks ago I stubbed my toe on the bottom of my staircase at home. In years gone by I would probably have used all forms of profanity while hopping around the room in agony and feeling very sorry for myself.
However, now that I have a toddler I need to watch absolutely every word I say. My daughter is learning words at an incredibly fast rate and has also managed to picked up some of my South African slang. When your little one is looking for her favorite plate and can't find it and then says 'Ag, no man!', you know you have to start paying more attention to what's coming out of your mouth. I didn't even know that I still said that?!
Anyway, that is slightly off topic. So, after I had stubbed my toe I sat maturely on the stairs, holding onto my foot as if my life depended on it and making soft cooing noises to try and ease the throbbing pain that was swimming through my entire body. My daughter took one look at me and her face dropped. She immediately rushed over and flung her arms around my shoulders and pushed her little face into mine asking me 'mommy, okay? mommy, okay?'.
The genuine concern and compassion shown by this 2 year old little creature was astonishing. I forgot about the pain and assured my daughter that mommy was fine and that my toe was just a little bit sore (okay, so, slight under-exaggeration there) and it was all okay. Mommy was fine. The little smile on her face and look of relief warmed my heart. My baby was growing into a gorgeous, compassionate little girl almost in the blink of an eye.
It made me stop and rethink the pace of my life. I want to teach her as much as I can without missing the small and extremely precious moments like this one, which is now safely stored in my memory for the rest of my days.
Slow down and live in the present. Life goes by in an instant so make the most of every precious second that you have. Take time to sit back, relax, breath and appreciate all that it has to offer. Smile often and laugh at yourself. Be a little crazy and silly and forget about who may be watching. Look at nature and admire it in all its beauty and wonder. See the joy in every situation. My toddler taught me that.
Ax
However, now that I have a toddler I need to watch absolutely every word I say. My daughter is learning words at an incredibly fast rate and has also managed to picked up some of my South African slang. When your little one is looking for her favorite plate and can't find it and then says 'Ag, no man!', you know you have to start paying more attention to what's coming out of your mouth. I didn't even know that I still said that?!
Anyway, that is slightly off topic. So, after I had stubbed my toe I sat maturely on the stairs, holding onto my foot as if my life depended on it and making soft cooing noises to try and ease the throbbing pain that was swimming through my entire body. My daughter took one look at me and her face dropped. She immediately rushed over and flung her arms around my shoulders and pushed her little face into mine asking me 'mommy, okay? mommy, okay?'.
The genuine concern and compassion shown by this 2 year old little creature was astonishing. I forgot about the pain and assured my daughter that mommy was fine and that my toe was just a little bit sore (okay, so, slight under-exaggeration there) and it was all okay. Mommy was fine. The little smile on her face and look of relief warmed my heart. My baby was growing into a gorgeous, compassionate little girl almost in the blink of an eye.
It made me stop and rethink the pace of my life. I want to teach her as much as I can without missing the small and extremely precious moments like this one, which is now safely stored in my memory for the rest of my days.
Slow down and live in the present. Life goes by in an instant so make the most of every precious second that you have. Take time to sit back, relax, breath and appreciate all that it has to offer. Smile often and laugh at yourself. Be a little crazy and silly and forget about who may be watching. Look at nature and admire it in all its beauty and wonder. See the joy in every situation. My toddler taught me that.
Ax
What a beautiful read! How sweet is your little girl?! You have raised her well mama =D I absolutely agree with the end paragraph xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you lovely! This is by far one of the nicest comments I've received on my blog so far. xx
DeleteAh, I agree with Charlotte above, this says a lot about how you are raising her too.
ReplyDeleteBy the by, have nominated you for a Reader Appreciation award in case you're interested http://littlemagicbeans.blogspot.co.uk/
Thanks hun! This really made my day. Still beaming from ear to ear xx
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