To My Precious Daughter,
This morning you woke me up with your sweet kisses. After blinking back the sleep, I could feel your
little nose pressed up against my own and I could feel the soft brush of your
lashes tickle my cheek. Your little body
fits snugly next to mine and I cherish those first few peaceful moments of the
day. This morning you held my face between your two little hands and you whispered
that you love me; there is no better alarm to wake me from my slumber.
At four years old, you can now walk down the stairs and make
your own breakfast. You even manage to
set out the placemat, poor the milk and wash up your dishes when you are finished.
Your autonomy has grown in the past year and you demand to do most
things yourself. I am not saying that
this does not test your mommy’s and daddy’s patience, however deep down we are
proud of your independence.
One of your growing interests is art. You can spend hours at your little green desk
creating pictures and other crafts. You
enjoy making greeting cards for your friends and family and you are at your
happiest with a glitter glue stick in one hand and scissors in the other. You love to read and your literary interests
are as eclectic as you are. You love books
on dinosaurs, Scaredy Squirrel and Splat the Cat. One of your favorite books happens to be a
non-fiction book about the history of medicine.
I still find it funny that when we cuddle up before bed, you request that
I read you the chapter about blood transfusions or amputations. You are also
developing as a story teller and I love to close my eyes and listen to you spin
your tales about dragons and mermaids and princesses.
Some of your favorite things are popcorn, minions and
watching movies at the theater. You love
“scooting,” gardening and sliding down your new big girl bed. It is a wonder
that you can entertain yourself with your “found things,” a stick, a rock and a feather can keep you
busy playing for hours. You are still fascinated by airplanes, fairies, birds
and butterflies and you continue to dream about flying. You have created all sorts of winged prototypes;
I dream that with your ingenuity and your determination that you will come to design
something that will one day help you take flight.
This summer I bought you a butterfly net and you spent many
hours catching bugs and then examining them under a magnifying glass. You made friends with all of the family pets
that we would visit and you conspired ways to bring them back to Saigon with us. You had a well thought out plan for getting
those kitties and doggies in your carryon luggage. You sang “You are my Sunshine” to your
grandpa Gary in front of a big crowd and you spent hours playing with your
cousin Rory.
In August, you happily hopped on the school bus that took
you to your first day of school. You are
not a big fan of the blue uniform, especially the shorts on PE day, but you
love school. At school, you have made
new friends, love to draw and to play outside. You have started to play soccer and even though
during most practices you are more interested in catching bugs, I can see moments
of future soccer greatness (but I guess that is what mommas do).
As a child that is growing up a third culture kid, we have
had to say farewell to so many friends in the past year, but you are also
learning to make new friends wherever you go.
And oh the places we go! This year you swam in your own sky pool in Danang,
floated on boats made from rice bags with the local Ticaoan children in the
Philippeans and lounged lazily on the hammock of your deck that overlooked the
bay of Pulau Weh (an island off the coast of Banda Ache in Sumatra). You sat patiently as our banka zoomed around
Donsol bay looking for whale sharks. You
even bravely donned a mask and snorkel so that you could hop in to swim with the
gentle giants. You were fascinated by
the Tomb of “Uncle Ho” (which by the way you often confuse with Colonel Sanders)
and you shared the sights of your Vietnam with Grandma and Grandpa.
On this your fourth birthday, I feel overjoyed that I have
you to smile at me and brighten up my day. I cherish that together we love cooking and
that I have someone to share my passions with. You make me laugh when you break
into spontaneous song (Ba-na-na) and I admire your confidence, charisma and clever
wit. I look forward to where the next
year takes us.
All my love,
Mommy
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