Never grow a wishbone, daughter….

FOR MY DAUGHTER

By Sarah McMane

“Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be.” – Clementine Paddleford

Dear M

My sweet M, just a few hours old.

I have a confession to make, M.

When I was pregnant with you, I hoped you wouldn’t be a girl.

Why would I hope such a thing?

Oddly, it wasn’t because I wanted another boy.

There were two major reasons.

Five years ago today…

…I gave birth to the most spectacular little girl on the planet.

M is smart, strong, funny (she denies it, but she’s so funny), kind, thoughtful, affectionate, and stunningly beautiful. She knows her mind, and – especially if pushed – she will let you know it.

From the very first day, she has taught me patience and to be calm. She is as comfortable as I am sitting quietly while she completes an activity, but she’s also got the feistiness I’ve got when necessary.

She looks up to her big brother, and I am ever so fortunate to have the privilege to be her mom.

Today, I celebrate my girl (with birthday cake for breakfast).

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(Yes, there are almost 50 pictures….)

I shouldn’t be pleased about this…

…but I am.

Z is 7.

M is coming up on 5.

A good decision

I make decisions for the kids all the time, of course.

I doubt those decisions all the time. Of course.

Vacation adventures (or something like that)

M and I had a lovely impromptu trip to Montreal today, but more on that when I’m not trying to type a blog post from my phone….

On our way home, we also had an impromptu adventure…of the “uh oh, what have I done?” kind, but M got through it like a trooper and has earned the award for most fantastic, patient little girl to travel with.

Ottawa-bound in less than 12 hours

This is it! Bedtime for the kiddos in 15 minutes and then M and I are Ottawa-bound in less than 12 hours.

Last year, I took Z for five days, but I was only able to co-ordinate/afford four days with M this year. As a little extra treat, I took her to get her toes painted today.

Yes, every single tiny toe is a different colour.

As I had my own pedicure, M relaxed….

Looks pretty comfy, doesn’t she?

And Z, apparently, worked….

Practice?

Well, now, that’s not safe….

Small surprises

I’m prepping course material this morning, and as I’m working through the course manual to ensure that I’m covering all of the material as it’s been outlined and supplementing where necessary (and it’s often necessary), I find this:

M (left) and me (right) surrounded by hearts and wearing crowns (of course)

I don’t know why I’m surprised when I find these little gems. She does it to me regularly. Draws a picture, punches holes in it and hides it in my binder or stack of notes. She did it once with a set of presentation notes I had, and she must have done it right before I left the house, as I didn’t find her piece of artwork until I was giving the presentation…my audience (classmates significantly younger than me) were not as amused as the professor and I were.