The Gallery – Dear Beautiful Daughter….

To my beautiful daughter,

I can’t believe you’re 10 this week.

You seem to have grown up so fast – from a chubby smiley baby to the confident happy young lady that you are now.

I know you’re looking forward to the next stage of your childhood – you’ve  told me often enough lately just how important a 10th birthday is as you’re almost a teenager when you hit hose double figures.  It makes me a little sad though, to know that you’re growing up and that one day soon, you won’t need me as much as you do right now.  I don’t ever want you to stop telling me your little secrets but I know you will, you’ll start to confide more in your friends than you will in me and I’m dreading that moment.

You know that you can ask me anything and at the minute you’re not embarrassed to talk to me about grown up stuff.  In fact, we’ve had some very interesting conversations lately that prove that fact.  The conversation you had with your dad to inform him that you knew all about condoms was one of my personal favourites, shortly followed by the one asking me how lesbian couples had babies!  I hope we always talk as openly as we do now.

I might moan a little about how you are so determined about what you will and won’t wear but that’s just what mum’s do.  really I’m proud that you are individual and that you know your own style.  It’s good that you don’t feel that you have to look the same as everyone else to fit in and I’m glad you have the confidence to be yourself.  Make sure you never lost that confidence or style!

You are a mass of contradictions – you are the girliest girl I know with a drawer filled with make up and hair things and a wardrobe filled with dresses but you are just as happy at the skate park or at football where you’re the only girl on the course.  You like to try new things but you get bored easily and like to move on to the next thing – I’m not worried though, you’ll find your thing some day.  Until then, if you can just let me know you’re not going to stick at something before I buy the uniform/guitar /books then that would be brilliant.

I love your personality – you’re warm, caring, bubbly and according to your last years school report you have a dry sense of humour.  You’re very bright and I was very proud to hear that you help the teacher to teach IT as you know all the things he’s teaching already.  You do need to stop talking in class though and concentrate a little more as you seem to prefer helping others to doing your own work at the minute!

I want you to know that there is nothing you can do that will stop me loving you and I am here for you always, no matter what you need and that there’s no problem we can’t solve together.  Just come to me and I will do everything in my power to put things right and make it better again.  I promise.

Your Nana and your Uncle Alan would have been so proud of the young lady you’re becoming and it makes me so sad to know that they’ll never get to see you grow up.  I know you miss them, Nana especially, I do too.  Every day.  But it’s you and your brother that kept me going when they died and you both continue to get me through any hard times.

I hope you have a wonderful birthday and get everything you wish for (except for the two ponies – they’re not going to happen)!

Love you millions and billions

Love Mammy