She Is All The Joy

When she was a tiny girl, she had some pet ducks. We didn't really keep them around, they just showed up every day. She called them "My duckies".

 

They would fly in. And walk right up to our door step and wait for her. She would take water and bread outside and they would all eat together. She would hand them a piece of bread and then eat one herself. Over and over again. She talked to them constantly. It was fascinating to watch.

And now she's 12. She wears makeup and constantly has her earbuds in her ears. She rolls her eyes at me. A lot. And when she gets really worked up, she runs her mouth. That's the opposite of fascinating.

Teenagers are interesting creatures. You would think that I would have just a bit of it figured out by now. But, I don't. Not even close. The more teenagers I have, the farther I feel from the truth of it all.

But when I look at her, really look at her, I still see the little girl that sat on the front lawn with her ducks. That girl shines brighter than all the other stuff. That adorable toddler with the chubby cheeks smiles at me through the layers of hard work. No matter what she says or what she does, I see her. The real her. The one that is my joy. The foundation of it all.

Let's remember to use our true parent eyes to see them with. The ones that know the beauty of who they are and who we are helping to mold them to be. Let's look with those eyes. And offer them in return the purest form of ourselves. Undiluted and ever ready.

Family at it's finest.