My dear daughter Kari--whose photos have graced Gather twice through my Photoshop work--will be turning seven on October 13th. She is a sweet and compassionate young lady who also has a bit of strength within her. She is assertive--almost to the point of distraction--and her articulate manner makes her seem more mature than her years demand of her.
All through her life, I never dumbed down my language--though I've done my best to keep it clean. Even at her age, she understands what satire is, she knows what an allusion is, and she can deal with most topics on TV when it comes to cartoons. She even watches old episodes of Ren and Stimpy which at times I find difficult to watch when it gets gross--she tells me she wants to be a doctor, which is why she watches that show. So she's got rationalization down as well, I guess.
Even so, she still has her "moments" when the stress of being a little kid in a big, bad world reduces her to tears. I can't say that I can blame her, for I was once a sad little girl many decades ago. Even then, things weren't all that innocent except in the eyes of those who either live in denial of reality or who end up clouded by nostalgia.
My wish for Kari is that she remains engaged in her life while learning how to focus on the things that matter--not so much to this world and its drudgery, but to her inner being and pure soul. Her eyes may be wise, but her inner innocence has not been marred by the damage done by lives lived in vain.
She is involved in Girl Scouting as a Brownie. She began as a Daisy Girl Scout, and began her first year of Brownies last year. She was quite successful when it came to selling cookies her very first year of doing so. As a co-leader and mom, I was also the Cookie Volunteer--something my co-leader was not willing to take on, though she did assist me in storing the cookies due to my lack of space in the apartment in which Kari and I live. Although Kari was not the top seller, she did very well overall. She hopes to do even better in the 2007 cookie sale, and once I get a regular job I can also help her succeed in her goals.
I haven't even touched upon Kari's authentic faith in God. It is not a blind, reflexive belief system of indoctrination, but an informed understanding of what He has done in both our lives. She has seen her prayers answered in tangible ways, and not because I told her so--not that I would want her faith to be an unthinking, knee-jerk sort of reflex.
Genuine faith is something that grows from a seed planted and nurtured in a setting of reality. Some faithful believers may think that Christians must stand apart from the world in a faith-based enclave, but then we would be disobeying Jesus' request that we be a light to the world. Kari's faith is genuine, which means that it will most likely last for the remainder of her earthly life. She's pretty good at asking questions, which tells me that she'll ask herself the hard questions that only an honest faith--one not taught by rote--can survive.
Still, I feel blessed that she is part of my life. I would do whatever it takes to make sure that she can keep not just her honest beliefs but her deep sense of integrity as well. In the end, those two qualitites will keep her tethered to the best of her all-too-human nature.
©2006 Cynth Bage
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Comments: 6
Marilyn :)