The Daughter I See SOL Day 14

Some traditions with our children never go away, they may change along the way, but thank goodness they don't go away.  One tradition that my girls and I shared was a conversation journal.  The conversational journal was a special tradition between my girls and me.  I started these journals with each of girls when they were in first grade. The thought was this would be a good writing strategy to build writing skills and we would just have fun!  

The way the journal worked was whoever had the journal would write to the other. Once you had written your message the journal was then placed on the pillow of the other.  I always loved coming to bed at night to find the journal on my pillow. The original notes were filled with hearts, rainbows and I Love Yous! It was always gushing love of the other and wishing the other more rainbows, and hearts and XOXO's.  These were the easy days, days when the hard part of parenting was the physical exhaustion. 

Fast-forward about ten years.  The conversation journals have been replaced with hours of homework, hours at the dance studio where she pours out her passion and erases the pressure of the day, occasional table chats and text messages.  Text messages and table chats  keep us connected and are still filled with I love you and XOXO's, but they aren't regular and they don't great me as my head meets the pillow.  These are the challenging days of being a parent, it's disjointed, it's emotional. 

Just the other night Livi, left me a note on my pillow. This note was there as I my head hit the pillow and it came from Livi's heart, it contained an I love you, but something had changed.  Unlike the rainbows and the XOXO's this note was filled with self doubt and an apology for not being smarter in school and warning me that her life would be less than desirable because of her academic performance. 

Livi is an amazing young woman! She dances about 15 hours a week, assist her teachers at school, works with her dance company to provide community service and all along maintains honor roll status each grading period with a schedule full of  honors and AP classes.  Livi measures herself only by academic numbers (that our schools and society give daily). 

She doesn't see what I see-

I see an incredible young woman

    who follows her dreams no matter the cost. 

I see a young woman 

    determined to be independent and strong. 

I see a young woman

    intelligent in ways our schools don't measure.  

I see a young woman confused

    measuring her value in ways that don't count. 

I see a woman with resolve-

    to make a difference in our world. 

I see you my daughter

    creative, beautiful strong and loved. 

Tonight the young woman I see was inducted into the National Honor Society, tonight was the night when others saw what I see. 

Tomorrow night Livi will get this post on her pillow. 

Thank You TWT for hosting this challenge