"My Daughter"

                                                Daughter

         A daughter is a precious miracle from God.  She is someone you want to protect from the world.  A daughter fills your heart with happiness and joy.  She is someone you love unconditionally, no matter what the circumstances.   
         It was a beautiful spring day when I received my first miracle.  The date was Wednesday March 21, 1990, at 6:14 p.m. seventeen years ago, and her name is Ashley. 
         My daughter, Ashley, is beautiful inside and out.  She has thick, beautiful brownish hair and the biggest greenish, bluish eyes I have ever seen.  I love her outgoing, outrageous, compassionate, affectionate, innocent, high maintenance, and heartfelt personality.
         My daughter is very outgoing and crazy.  Ashley makes friends wherever she goes.  Her sense of humor makes people laugh and feel at ease around her.  The other day, my girlfriend who works at the high school my daughter attends told me everyone, including the teachers, love Ashley.  Her high energy personality makes her school mates laugh.  She’s full of school spirit, walking the halls with a smile and a spring in her step.  The teachers I spoke with at open-house all commented that Ashley is not a shy person but a pleasure to have in class.  She makes me laugh when she dresses up for a football game.  She wears red eye liner and the initials G M on her cheeks. 
         My daughter is affectionate.  Even though she is seventeen, she stills kisses me on the cheek good-bye and good-night.  When we say good-bye on the phone or walking out the door, she tells me she loves me and I tell her I love her.  My heart fills with joy every time she kisses my cheek and I hear those three simple words, “I Love You.”
         My daughter is compassionate.  My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer two years ago; the only cure to lung cancer is surgery.  My family and I were devastated.  My mother has been cancer free for almost two years now.  Every year Ashley and I walk the Relay of Life with my mother and father to help researchers find a cure for cancer.  Ashley also walks for Alzheimer’s awareness at the Erie Zoo every year in memory of my grandmother, who is her great grandmother.  She has a way of making me feel better when I’m having a bad day; Ashley always tries her best to make me laugh by singing and dancing around the living room.  Hearing her laugh makes me laugh, and I find myself forgetting about my problems and having a good time. 
         My daughter is kindhearted.  She is considerate of others and always willing to help anyone in need.  Ashley was in middle school at the time and had a best friend who didn’t get along well with her mother.  The best friend would call my daughter wanting comfort.  Ashley spent hours on the phone trying her best to make her friend feel better.  Ashley spent two weeks of her summer vacation with her grandmother.  My mother couldn’t take care of herself after her lung surgery, so Ashley stayed with her while my father was working.  She helped out with cleaning, cooking, laundry and any other needs my mother had.
         My daughter is high maintenance.  She seems to think I have a money tree growing in the back yard.  Before she heads out the door with her friends, the main question is, “Mom, can I borrow some money?”  As we all know, a teenager can never have an enough shoes, clothes, and make-up.  Ashley has an obsession with shoes; as soon as she obtains her pay check from work she buys a new pair of shoes.  Whenever we go shopping, she wants make-up, shampoo, conditioner, and hair ties.  She also spends hours in front of the mirror getting ready to go out with her friends.  Since I am a daughter myself, I asked my parents this simple question, “Was I that bad when I was younger?” 
         They both smiled in agreement and said, “Yes!”
         My daughter is a procrastinator.  Projects for school are always done the day before they’re due.  I had just finished work around 11:00 p.m. when my cell phone rang.  When I answered the phone, I heard, “Mom, I have a project due tomorrow for chemistry!  Will you pick up a white T-shirt, puffy paint, and a white poster board, please?”  I got into the car and drove to Wal-mart in the cold rain.  I found the white T-shirt and white poster board within five minutes but the puffy paint was nowhere to found.  I walked through three aisles trying to find puffy paint; finally, I found it on the bottom shelf of the second aisle ten minutes later.  She needed four specific colors which were red, black, blue and yellow.  The store was all out of black and I didn’t know what to do.  I called Ashley and there was no answer.  I wasn’t sure what to do, so I bought the starter kit which had all the colors she needed except for black.  I arrived at home sometime after midnight and was surprised to see all the lights out.  I walked into the house, down the stairs into Ashley’s room, and woke up her up.  She was thrilled when I told her I had everything she needed except the black paint.  She gathered everything she needed in the living room and went to work.  The next morning, I found out she stayed up until 3:30 a.m. until she finished her project.  A few days later she cheerfully told me she received an A.  I may have been a little irritated and somewhat tired that night, but after hearing the excitement in her voice that she received an A on her project, I would do all over again.
                  My daughter is a wonderful actress.  When Ashley was in elementary school and got into trouble, she would make herself cry so I would feel sorry for her. This act took ten to twenty seconds  I’ll never forget the time she embarrassed me by acting like a drama queen.  Four years ago, I met my husband’s family for the first time at a fourth of July picnic located at his house.  Ashley was lying on a hammock outside when she tipped over and broke her tooth on the metal bar.  She started screaming something like, “My tooth is broke and now everyone is going to laugh at me!”  Then, she ran through the yard waving her arms yelling and crying; this went on for at least five minutes.  I took her into the bathroom where she washed her face and dried her tears.  I called the dentist and he was willing to see us in an hour.  The dentist fixed her tooth so that no one could tell she had chipped it.  We talk about this story once in awhile and laugh about it, but at the time it happened I truly felt bad for her. 
                    My daughter is messy.  When she showers, she often forgets to turn on the ceiling fan, filling the room with mist.  It’s like walking into a messy sauna.  The shampoo and conditioner always seem to end up in the middle of the bath tub, and the cabinet drawers are always wide open.  There are times when her room is such a mess you can’t see the floor because of all the clothes on floor.  Every day isn’t like this, she does have her days when she cleans up without my saying anything.
                  My daughter is sensitive.  At the age of ten, Ashley, had a beta fish named Angel.  She took very good care of Angel.  She fed, sang, and talked to Angel every day until she died.  Ashley was so upset that she cried for two days.  Ashley was so broken hearted that we had a funeral in the backyard for Angel.  After a few days, she recovered from her fish dying.  Sometimes, I have to be careful choosing my words with Ashley.  When she changed schools two years ago, it was a very tough time for her.  One day after school she was crying and very upset in her room.  I had asked her what was wrong, and she told me about a group of people she wanted to be friends with.  I asked about their personalities and right away she told me they made fun of her clothes and said she didn’t look like her family had money.  I explained to Ashley that designer clothes and shoes do not make a person.  I asked her, “Why do you want friends that act like that? Make friends with people that make you feel good about yourself. You have good friends. Concentrate on their friendship, and don’t worry about trying to fit in with people you don’t even like.  No one deserves to be treated that way,” I told her.  The next day Ashley came home from school and her spirits were high.  She said, “Mom, you’re right.  I don’t need friends that make me feel bad about myself.” She stuck with this attitude and stopped worrying about what others think.  She is confident in who she is.
                Since the day my daughter was born, there has been a special bond between us.  When she hurts, I want to protect her by taking the pain away; when she cries, I want to wipe her tears; when she laughs, I laugh with her.  Ashley has brought happiness and joy into my life.  Sometimes it’s hard for Ashley to come to me with a problem because she’s afraid I will be disappointed with a decision she’s made or something she has done.  I am never disappointed because my love is unconditional.  No matter what the circumstances may be, I will always be there.
                My mother once told me, “When you have a child, your life is no longer your own.” Sharing my life with Ashley has brought a great deal of happiness to my life. I am proud to have her as my daughter.