Skip to main content

Building Relationship With Your Daughters


I know I usually come here to talk about hair, but my heart is so full right now I can't help but share. I had the most wonderful couple of hours with HMG. She's physically changing before my eyes. More and more I see the little girl fading away and the young woman emerging. She's still my little girl, but every now and then I catch a glimpse of who she's becoming. Sometimes I'm a little intimidated by the new demands her growth process are placing on me. I want to run back to story time and let me kiss that boo-boo for you and make it all better. These days HMG is navigating her way through so many issues, and sometimes when she comes to me I am humbled by the realization that I haven't mastered the situation yet myself. How do I lead her through? Inside I'm quaking. What if I make a mess of things? At times I've been afraid to be alone with her in these tough places. Today I took a leap.

I decided I would rather fumble if it means taking my chance to really know my daughter and to let her know me. For a couple of hours I decided to step outside my busy-ness, turn over the rest of the kids to their father and head to Dunkin Donuts with my oldest Mocha Princess. For five dollars and change I found myself to be so blessed by her animated conversation. It's like she was finally able to say all she'd been wanting to say and I was finally listening. I wasn't struck with the perfect answers, but I finally realized she just needed me there. Something about me--imperfections and all--was all she needed.

When I blog--making sure my wording and presentation is perfect, and when I edit my videos-- making sure not to include my moments of frustration, I realize it may come across like things are holding together really well all of the time. The truth is there muck in us all--I am so grateful that I don't have to be perfect to accomplish something good. I hope all of you out there are taking the time now to make authentic connections with your daughters. I'm realizing that God has purposed it so that especially my broken places--which tend to make me pull away-- are useful to share with them.
Labels:

Comments

  1. DeniseDecember 3, 2010 at 9:00 PM

    This is so beautiful... it made me think about when I was younger (much younger!) and how my mom would listen to all my chatter - so much of it must have been so boring for her. I would talk while she cooked, while she drove... any time that I felt I had her attention (with 4 kids, that could be rare), but I remember some of those times so clearly even 20 years later. We still have a very close relationship (and I still talk her ear off) which I treasure every day.

    Good job Natacha - for making the time to listen to her.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MummyDecember 4, 2010 at 4:20 AM

    Beautiful, Natacha. Indeed, even our imperfections the Lord can use for good. That truly is a blessing ... and a relief. :-D

    ReplyDelete
  3. My.3.Gurlz.With.KurlzDecember 4, 2010 at 6:50 PM

    Her hair looks beautiful and yes it is a blessing to have those moments alone to talk about life with our daughters. Thanks for sharing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. MollyMarch 24, 2011 at 1:58 PM

    This.is.beautiful. Thanks for sharing and encouraging us all.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Please leave that baby's hair alone!

I'll never forget the first time I saw Mocha Girl One (HmG) . She was an emergency c-section, and had to spend several days in NICU. She was born four days past her estimated due date and looked huge in her incubator. I imagined her to be especially delicate and feminine. I couldn't wait to frill her up, and more importantly to do her hair ! The only reason she wasn't sporting a barrette the day we took her home from the hospital, was because the one I brought to match her lacey outfit, slid right out. Mocha Girl One's baby hair was silky straight and fine. As the weeks rolled by, it became wavier until she had a lovely curly fro. I washed it all the time . I brushed it several times a day . I tried snap clips, and moved to velcro barrets when the clips slid out. I bought a different head band for every outfit. Meanwhile her curls continued to wind tighter and tighter. I kept everything in a pretty box, dubbed the hair bin . I was really frustrated at not b
59 comments
Read more

Weight Loss Journey | Holiday Weight Gain

Hey Mocha Family, I can't believe I am packing twenty extra pounds! I guess weight management comes to everyone sooner or later. Can I smirk at the younger me who didn't own a scale and could eat whatever she wanted? Here is what I am doing to kick off my weight loss journey. I don't expect to lose twenty pounds in twenty one days. Instead I hope to break some really bad habits and restart my body for the New Year. With more than a decade of experience fasting like this, I know this works well for me. Be blessed!
6 comments
Read more

Trader Joe's Castille Soap Discontinued!

There's some controversy about the use of castille soap as a shampoo. For example, popular YouTuber Kim , of KimmayTube tested the ph of Bronner's Castille Soap and found it to be much higher than the recommended range for hair (between 4 and 5). You can watch her explain her findings. She also did an informative series fraught with good visuals on understanding the effects of ph on hair. That said, I've been using diluted castille soap successfully for YEARS, but I've never tried Bronner's Castille Soap. I had a bottle of Trader Joe's Castille Soap . Turns out Trader Joe's formula includes Aloe Vera --which has an acidic ph---probably bringing down the overall ph of the product--perhaps balancing it for hair. The manufacturer recommends it's use as a shampoo right on the bottle's label. I did not get a chance to personally test the ph of my bottle, because by the time I noticed Aloe as an ingredient of my castille soap, the bottle was empty
16 comments
Read more