Spending last weekend with my Fellow Flowers crew at Rock Retreat Run made me think – hard – about This Girl:

Trixie, age 1, circa Summer 2010 in her Pirate Fascinator
My daughter’s seven now, too old to be that tiny pirate, but she’s also still too young (I hope, oh god, I hope) to have internalized society’s messages about how she *should* look/act/feel/be.
There are so many things I wish for her: authenticity, strength, resiliency, kindness, bravery, intelligence and unwavering friendships.
And of course I still want her to be a kick-ass pirate.
This weekend also made me think of This Girl:

Me, age 3-ish, circa Let’s-Not-Go-There
This Girl still struggles with all of the things on that list above, although she’s figuring it out with a little help from her friends.
What I just wish for my daughter is that she could find a like-minded tribe at seven, not at 41, because I think the key to survival is knowing that while You’ve Got This, your tribe Has Your Back in case you fall.
And that’s a message we can’t ever hear enough.
For now, Trixie just learned to ride her bike and I’m there – literally – in case she falls, but 99% of the time she doesn’t need me. It’s the other 1% that matters the most, though, so I’ll do my best to pick her up when she falls and find others to join her on the ride.
well said! so glad you are back, I’m binge-reading now to catch up!