Intentional Investment
When I first found out I was pregnant with a little girl, I didn’t realize how badly I wanted a daughter. For weeks prior to that appointment, I had been telling myself, and truly thought, we were having a boy. Although everyone around me didn’t think so since my all-day-everyday sickness created a new relationship with me and the porcelain thrown… And thank God that is behind us now. They say you forget after your baby is born. But I did NOT forget!
Anyhow -
I didn’t realize how much my heart longed for a daughter. Maybe it was because I cherish the relationship I have with my mom and had hoped to have the same relationship with my daughter someday. Whatever the reason, I am so grateful for Brooklynn. She has brought us so much joy from the moment she was born and is growing into such a beautiful young lady inside and out. She has a tenderness, joy, love, and genuine passion for people and life that I truly believe is God-given. Even at a young age, walking to the park and seeing all the kids around her, she would say, “My friends are here!” even though she knew none of them. She loves to laugh and loves to smile. She has always been a happy child from the moment she was born.
Over the past year our conversations have begun to change. Real life, tough, and heartfelt conversations are beginning to take place. And not the type of conversations that can be answered with just a little information so that we don’t have to dive deep into a tough topic, but the type of conversations that are incredible to unpack together. I have noticed now, more than ever, that our conversations and my time with her are and must be filled with intentional investment. She is watching, gleaning, and mimicking my every move. She is watching how I communicate, respond, interact with, and treat the world and relationships around me.
Over the past 11 years of running my photography business, she has joined in on MANY photo shoots. And for many years, what she wanted to be when she grew up was a photographer. And for her entire life she has watched me lead worship at church and she too wants to sing on stage and lead worship. And for the last 2-1/2 years that we went through the adoption process and Tristan has been a part of our family, she too wants to adopt some day.
Kids learn by watching and mimicking. They absorb what their surroundings are, the influences around them, things they witness, words that they hear, and how relationships and friendships are developed. We do not hide from tough subjects, but walk hand in hand and discuss them together.
A few weekends ago Brooklynn and I went out for a little mommy-daughter time. We didn’t really have an agenda other than to head to the mall and go in shops that have breakables, which we typically can’t go in because of a fast moving brother. LOL ~ But my goal, my agenda, was to chat about life. Discuss what it means to be a “classy lady” and the choices that surround us. We talked about my Grandma Jean who exuded class, joy, and love. She was the type of woman that walked into a room and lit up the room with her smile. She was poised, elegant, and beautiful inside and out. She loved people with a genuine passion. We talked about my mom and the classy, respectful, full of wisdom woman that she is. We talked about what it means to carry ourselves respectfully and with dignity. And over and over throughout our afternoon together Brooklynn would say, “This is SO much fun!”
I have dreamed of the day that we could go shopping together. Sit and chat about life’s tough topics, and it is finally here. I am grateful for her. Grateful for her heart. Grateful that God has blessed me to be her mom. Grateful that I have this opportunity to instill in her what has been passed down from my Great Grandma, to my Grandma, my mom, and on to me. That I can now pass pearls of wisdom that I have gleaned onto Brooklynn.
Intentional investment. Who she becomes depends on it.
