A Front Row Seat for the Phenomenon of Mothers & Daughters

Mom and daughter messing around as Moms and daughters must.

My Mom wasn't lucky enough to have a daughter. I think that's why she latched on to my niece, Avery, so hard, and likewise, why Avery gravitated towards the unique relationship that she found in a daughterless Grandma. The two are sweet together, and inseparable. June and Zo are the exact same way, naturally, and it's something to watch. I can't get enough of it. I sometimes catch myself standing on the sidelines of responsibilities and attention etc...because I'm fairly mesmerized by the tandem that is Mother & Daughter.

I really can't imagine having anything but a daughter. It's what I wanted. I think it's what June wanted. That's not to say that a son wouldn't have been just as special, or just as welcome, it's just that if secrets be known, we were both hoping for a girl.

As much as the Daddy/Daughter relationship is something to stand back and observe, the Mother/Daughter one might be even more curious. The only thing that I know for sure is that everything she learns about womanhood will be from the best version of it that I've ever known. June is everything that I hope Zoey grows up to be.

She is tolerant and patient, curious and accepting. She is oh-so kind, and unbelievably enthusiastic. She is equally trusting and cautious, open and as much of a mystery as anyone I've ever met. She's got perspective and a kind of gentleness that soothes even the most ardent of anxieties. She's fun. She's just stubborn enough to get the things that she wants, and thoughtful and generous enough to give everyone else what they need. She judges less than anyone I know, and bounces out of bed every morning with a smile and the kind of optimism that makes me feel hopeful. She is genuine. She works hard and laughs harder. She cries when she's supposed to and stays calm when I can't. She tells me to breathe and I listen, well, I try to listen. Zoey is going to witness all of that. She'll get to absorb every single drop of it, and with luck, put it all to good use.

Watching Zo you can already see the influence of her Mom and it makes me laugh. I've barely worried a day of this little girl's life because I know that she'll grow up to be just like her Mom. That's easy to say, here on the edge of her first birthday, and hardly a full chapter of her life passed, but I believe it, and I imagine that if anything she'll be more of her Mom than she will be of me. I just watch them together and know that over the last year my love just got doubled, not divided, and that feels pretty incredible.

Mothers and daughters...I see what my Mom missed out on all those years.