Flower Power

TO MY ONLY DAUGHTER (and I think you'll stay that way) ON HER 15^TH BIRTHDAY:

Fifteen years ago Dad was driving me back and forth over the railroad tracks by the post office to speed my labor along. A storm had blown in and changed the barometric pressure, the birthing rooms were full, and an abundance of daffodils dotted the city. You and your legendary hedgehog hair arrived at 9:18 pm. I made Dr. Lind, Dad, and Grandma all verify you were, in fact, a girl. Thrice relieved I leaned back and checked out under the heated blankets. The nurse who helped deliver you was named Joy. By the time we were each cleaned up and wheeled to our rooms it was almost midnight. As the clock chimed it became Easter Sunday. Dad had gone home to sleep, the nursery night crew was busy tying bows of every color for your awesome hair, and I was all alone with semi-numb legs feeling the weight that lands on a new mother.

For ten years I have waited in the car for you to walk out of school. Your long, colt legs have always been easy to spot, your backpack has always been too heavy, and you have never worn a coat no matter the weather. How my heart has thumped each time my wobbly colt comes back to me.

Today you left for school without wobbles. Golden fairy tale hair meticulously curled, teeth almost ready to be released from braces, white Converse high tops with laces wrapped around the ankles. You’ve grown into your long legs. Soon the chute will open and you will run your race alone; I will be a spectator cheering you on. Your requested birthday meals were Hotel Monaco pancakes (see footnote) and mulligatawny soup with naan bread.

I know all you can see right now are the annoying puberty announcements: greasy hair, breakouts, body morphing. But as the person who has watched you grow from a hedgehog to a colt to a water lily I only see a flower that will shatter stone.* Yes, you are lithe and delicate and a little unsure at times but your stalk is steel. You don’t know your own power yet but I see the fuse that runs through you. I don’t care what your GPA or ACT or extracurricular numbers equate to; your strength is your spirit. You are already learning to act on promptings that can only be fulfilled with courage. You would rather face fear than ignore the Lord. You are a teachable seeker. Your heart and mind are closely connected. Amelia Bedelia, you may melt powdered sugar and tortilla bags to our frying pans and brand bookcases with your flat iron but in fields that matter most you are a MENSA genius.

Aurora Jayne, you were the dawn of my motherhood and my only light for so long. The Lord knew it would be 13 years until someone crashed our NO BOYS ALLOWED party so he sent a mini-me, a best friend, and an OCD court jester all in one. I may want to wring your teenaged neck from time to time but I hear that’s normal. You may want to crawl under a rock when I try to dab in front of your friends but I hear that’s also normal. There is no one I’d rather make a Saturday to-do list with and no one who takes longer to get ready for bed! (You’ve even got Uncle Matt beat.)

I hope all your candles get blown out and bring secret wishes to life. Please know your life is one of my greatest wishes come true.

xo Mom, Mumsie, Mother-Knows-Best-I-Made-You-Hazelnut-Stew

*Proof of Descriptions:

HEDGEHOG:

WATER LILY:

When I lived in Asia, I saw many ponds covered with beautiful flowering water lilies. They added a serene beauty and sweet fragrance to otherwise muddy, stagnant ponds. The leaves of the water lily floated on the water’s surface, and a long, firm stalk anchored its position in the pond. The continued growth of the stalk ensured the flower’s stability, even when torrential rains raised the level of the water in the pond.

My dear young sisters, you are much like this beautiful flower. Your freshness, purity, and beauty add much goodness to our lives and to the lives of your family. You live in a challenging world polluted with temptations and trials, yet your testimony of Jesus Christ can be your anchor. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will strengthen and help your testimony grow, and you will be able to rise above the evils of the world and maintain your position of righteousness.

An anchor is defined as something “that provides stability or confidence in an otherwise uncertain situation.” Your testimony will be your anchor and will give you the confidence to stand “steadfast and immovable” in keeping the Lord’s commandments in an uncertain world.

Right now your testimony is growing like the stalk of the water lily. Your faith will help it grow and keep it strong, even when you face challenges and temptations of a world polluted with drugs, immorality, pornography, and immodesty.

-excerpt from Mary Cook’s April 2008 General Conference address entitled “Anchors of Testimony”

Ever since I heard the talk I've seen RE's long legs as her lily stalks. They were long at an early age and have proven to be quite hearty.

THE FLOWER THAT SHATTERED THE STONE:

A phrase from John Denver’s song of the same title. Once I was hiking and a little flower was growing sideways out of a boulder. I inspected it up close and the roots had indeed infiltrated the smallest of cracks and therefore perforated the stone. I flaked away small chips of once-solid rock. The flower had shattered the stone.

Years later I got a fountain from our neighbors and intended on using it as a three-tiered herb planter. I never planted anything but the sprinkler continued to hit it. Lo and behold one day a happy magenta cosmos smiled at me. How the seed got there and thrived is beyond me but my first thought was the flower shattered the stone. If you are a strong flower it doesn't matter if life's winds blow you into a neglected fountain. You still win because you have a destiny, inherent worth, and roots. You have power over dead old concrete.

Everyone knows a flower that shatters stone is just another name for a girl who moves mountains. That is my RE. Her strong stalk and unique bloom will shatter whatever obstacles life may present be it thick skins, tough cookies, closed doors, or mortared walls. She is a beacon and light always finds a chink to seep through; light will always conquer darkness.

Hotel Monaco Pancakes are hearty pancakes containing no white flour topped with a crumble made from granola, blueberries, and cashews glued together with maple syrup or honey.