A Better Version of Me
By Kimberly Jensen
Everyone always warned me that when my daughter turned 15 she would transform into a person I wouldn't recognize. These words of warnings came from parents of current teenage girls who seemed to sprout gray hairs right before my very eyes. I couldn't stop the gray hairs from coming, but my colorist does a fabulous job in camoflauging them, and I couldn't stop my daughter from turning 15 last December. I held tight to my belief that my sweet little girl would remain sweet, even post-puberty. Her birthday came and along with it came about 12 of her closest friends who roasted marshmallows in the snow and sipped hot chocolate in our backyard. It reminded me of just a few years ago when I was volunteering at the elementary school and my daughter was in her first year of junior high. She arrived home about an hour before I did and decided to surprise me at the school with a mug full of hot chocolate. I took the mug and smiled at my soon-t0-be 13 year old daughter. These small acts of kindness and "thinking of others" comes naturally, and often, to my daughter. But each time I am pleasantly surprised by her insightfulness. I have learned a lot from her, but often fall short. To her it comes naturally. To me, I have to think about it and be reminded often. I'm just thankful that in her, there is a better version of me.
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1 comment:
You know, I've had people tell me "Beware the teenagers!" Now that I have three grown sons, two current teenage boys and one on the way, I have to say that in my opinion, overall, teenagers are wonderful. Yours sounds especially nice. I'll have to do a little hot chocolate training on the side.
Shirley Bahlmann
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