Almost without exception, the first response anyone has to our daughter, is “Wow, she’s beautiful”. If they spend more than 15 minutes with her, it is eventually overridden by different adjectives – smart, sassy, confident, strong, fast, loving, busy, stubborn… the list goes on. BUT seldom to her face. What she actually hears constantly is that she’s beautiful.
Now, I’m not blind to the fact that our girl is quite striking. She has elven features, with a rather puckish vibe going and combined with a long, lithe body, fair skin and silky, golden hair, she can straight up knock the breath right out of you.
Thing is, beauty is fleeting, based on societal standards, personality, taste and the ravages of life, but what lasts, is the myriad qualities she (and all people) possesses that make her extraordinary. The things that take your breath away constantly, every day, irrespective of how long you’ve been with her. And those are the things I try to let her hear from the people around her everyday.
She is so far beyond beautiful.
She is strong – physically and emotionally.
She is tough.
She is empathetic – so much so that it sometimes hurts my soul.
She is kind.
She is strong-willed.
She is smart.
She is intelligent.
She is loving.
She is curious.
She is fast.
She is funny.
She is expressive.
She is sneaky.
She is brave.
She is adventurous.
She is confident.
She is resilient.
She is sassy.
And, yes, she is also beautiful.
When we look in the mirror, may we all see that we are beyond beautiful.
