Today is my daughter’s 14th birthday, and I woke up this morning thinking about the day she was born. I think of that day pretty often actually, because it was one of the best days of my life. I was surrounded by a lot of love on that day. I proceeded to follow my normal morning routine of meditation and prayer. I know it’s probably hard to believe that this is how I start my mornings, but I do. Every. Single. Day. I have to start with meditation to get back into myself and my body, to ground myself for the day. Once I am there I know what to pray for that day. This morning I focused on self-compassion for meditation, because believe it or not, I am pretty hard on myself, and after a busy week, taking care of everyone else, I needed to give myself a little love too. The mantra was “I love you. I am listening” and as I said this to myself and my heart opened, my thoughts went to my daughter and what gift I could give her today. The answer is so clear. I can give her the gift to never stop fighting for her rights as a person to be anything she wants and to love anyone she wants. I believe that God has a plan for everyone and his plan for me was to be her mother.
One of the alumni of my daughter’s community of schools is the one and only Lady Gaga. The woman who fights for trans rights as a calling. I don’t know if she is one of my daughter’s role models, but she is certainly one of mine. This is a woman so comfortable in her own skin, confidence I think she gained during her adolescent years, with a true understanding of compassion and love. I see a lot of those qualities in my daughter. She is kind, and brave and doesn’t really care if people like her or not. She lets her little freak flag fly brazenly. I love that so much about her.
When I finished my meditation, my prayer was that God give me some of the bravery he has showered on my daughter. I will need it. My gift to my daughter is not only to stand up for her rights, but to always think about her future and the future of her children, and their children, and so on. My gift is to try to make this world a better place for her to live in. The world is made up of givers and takers, and I was taught early on to be a giver. My mother is a giver, of her love, time and energy. I think this is because she grew up with a lot of takers in her life. I am also a giver of my love, time and energy. I have given a lot of time and energy to causes that are important to me like mental health awareness and addiction recovery. But I want to also focus on the things that matter for my daughter’s future like human rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and clean energy. I am looking forward to joining peaceful protests this month and beyond, and doing it with my daughter.
I can’t even believe that it has been 14 years that I have been blessed with this beautiful, strong girl in my life. I don’t know if I truly loved myself before she came along, but with every year she grows up I love both her and myself a little more. My love for my husband has grown so much more as well, watching him as a father, and seeing how truly selfless he is in everything he does. We are so lucky to have each other. I am so grateful she chose us to be her parents. Happy Birthday my fearless little rock star, my hero, my heart.
*For your listening pleasure.
You have become a wonderful Mother, Wife, Daughter & Daughter in law! It took alot of hard work & love to become the wonderful person you are! The Logans are ALWAYS full of surprises & adventures & I’m so happy to be able to watch the process!