the rewind button

Well it has happened...I am the mother of a teenager. Today my oldest daughter, Eloise, turned 13. It is so exciting to see her blossom each day. She loves fashion and makeup, adores movies and music, and carries on great conversations about most any topic. There are times she reminds me so much of myself that it feels as though God has given me a glimpse backward into what my mother saw in me.
Then I see her uniqueness...the way she still loves dressing dolls, how she signs her name in different little monograms practicing for when she becomes a fashion designer, her care and concern for everyone else's pain or struggle, how she loves to swing on her tree swing in the backyard. I watch her and am in awe of her!
In school Eloise is studying French. Every day she comes to me with new words, struggling with the pronunciation, and I can see the pride shining in those hazel eyes. She loves to read as well. After finishing her newest book (usually a historical novel about a young woman in another place and time) Eloise gives me a full report on all the character struggled with and all she admired. Those are the moments that fill me with love and show me my purpose for each day.
If the world could just take a moment to look back on those little accomplishments; the ones that now seem so small and insignificant like learning a new foreign word or putting together the perfect doll outfit, finishing a really good book. I think we would see it all differently, be more confident of ourselves and those around us, and have more of the cheerleader mentality. As adults we tend to forget that each step is goal reached. We look too much toward the next thing before we've even finished what we're struggling with now. Our thoughts constantly run to a "that's over, so now what?" pattern. Maybe we all need to take a minute to think like a child... treat each accomplishment as a feat defeated, one giant leap forward, or as though we are crossing our own finish lines with the trophy in sight. This single homeschooling mom is in search of the rewind button!