farahsmusings

189,343,500 seconds. The most precious seconds of my life that I have enjoyed being a mother to my adorable daughter.

Six years ago on this day, I was blessed with the most exquisite gift in the world on my birthday — my daughter. It does not happen very often when a mother and daughter share the same birthday. From the day that my daughter was born, mostly everyone has said that she is a “mini-me”. We both have very similar personalities and each day that she grows into a beautiful young girl, I can see more and more of the resemblance. So how are we so alike?

Like me, she has a need to speculate and question. A couple months back when we were snowed in, my daughter peeked out of every single window in our home and wondered if it was snowing outside of each window. She likes to reflect and imagine the “what ifs”. She absolutely loves to play with her 27 imaginary siblings and reveals stories about them to others as if they really exist.

All my life, I’ve naturally always been a planner. Taking the time to plan ahead pays off and makes a big difference when I want things to be as perfect as possible. Five months before her birthday celebration was even conceptualized, my daughter started making her own party invitations. She even had her friends in school sign a list to acknowledge their attendance at her unplanned forthcoming celebration. While crafting her invitations, she said, “Mommy, I want my invitations to be just right.”
 
For the most part, following the rules has always been important to me. I almost never engage in anything without an understanding or asking before doing. I’m proud to have a daughter who does her very best to follow our house rules — from asking mommy if she can have a cookie when someone offers it to making sure that her hands are washed before she has her meal to placing her shoes away in her closet on the rack exactly where they belong…only to make mommy happy.
 
Honesty is the best policy. I have held this very close to my heart. We both have the desire to be honest and to tell the truth despite the consequences. This helps us become responsible for our actions. Some days that my daughter is not well-behaved in school, she will truthfully state her mistake to me and will tell me that she will have a better day tomorrow.

Surprises, surprises and more surprises. The mere fact that she was born on my birthday was a huge surprise, especially since she was born a month earlier than expected. And every day that she spontaneously reaches over and gives me a hug with an “I love you” and a sweet kiss on my cheek makes my days brighter when I least expect it.

We both have an innate ability for being artistic and creative. When we want to express our emotions, we will draw or write. At times, we depict our most upsetting moments on paper without having to scream at the top of our lungs.
 
Perfectionist. Is there such a thing? Maybe not, but I believe in being the best I can be. We both do. What I have to remind my daughter in the years ahead is that perfectionism is a double-edged sword — it cuts both ways. That when you make a mistake, it is okay. That we can learn from our mistakes and they can make us better people. And if we live life afraid of being wrong or making a mistake, that we never grow.

In the coming years, when my daughter reads this, I want her to know that sharing my birthday with her makes it even more special and miraculous. And I wouldn’t want to have it any other way.