A letter to my daughter as we approach your 21st birthday in a few weeks

I was sure and I promised to teach you everything.

I had so much wisdom to impart to you, darling Renata! So many life lessons to pass down and I couldn’t wait to get started.

But you; you had other plans.

The more I got to know you, the more I realized how little about life I actually knew, and in the end it is you who has taught me patience, unconditional love, forgiveness, joy, sorrow, and acceptance,it is you who is filled with wisdom; the kind of wisdom that cannot be gathered from textbooks or fancy degrees. Rather, it is the kind of wisdom inherent in a child who looks at the world through unfiltered lenses, whose spirit is not diluted by materialistic matters or ego.

It is the wisdom of a girl who finds pleasure in the simple things; things that I may have otherwise overlooked had you not been around to show them to me these last 20 years. The magic of being able to run in circles for minutes without feeling dizzy, the way you gather each water bottle and hold them like gold.

The beauty of carefully breaking a broomstick into M shapes, spinning so fast you might miss them if you blink.

The indescribable delight in flipping your fingers. Without you sweet Renata, I would have never thought a quick-tempered person like me could be so patient, the list is endless, but my point is simple: You have taught me more about the meaning of life in this last decade than I could ever hope to teach you. You have given me the priceless gift of perspective and I can never repay you for that. You have challenged me in ways I thought would undo me but instead, it has made me a better human being and I am eternally indebted to you for that.

You fill my life with meaning and purpose and even on my worst days, when I feel helpless to help you through the pain and the tears, and the discomfort of trying to fit into this imperfect world, you still manage to love me.

You climb up into my lap, flash your amazing grin, and for a moment we are one again and I know that I am enough.

(C)Mary Amoah..2024