Tuckin' in Ice Cubes

In the kitchen getting a glass of water; My daughter comes storming by, heels pounding the floor, clutching her dirty clothes and thrusting them in the washer. 5' of hormone whizzing through my house.

"Rachel, would you come here please?" I say calmly, bracing my brain for the attitude adjustment discipline.

With her arms crossed and a sorrowful look she says "I am just really tired and my stomach is full and I am frozen but SOLID!"

"Solid?" I say, poking her stomach, squeezing her arms. "Hmmm...really? Solid...huh?"

I was trying very hard to control my laughter, but I waned. That was it. One small smirk and it was all over. The adolescent drama was too much to bare. She hugged me tight and then burst into to her own round of giggles. Such moments...

She is now laying in bed singing sweet hymns from church.

I have heard the saying "Small Miracles". I cringe a bit when hearing it because it is such a contradictory statement. Miracles are not small. They are quite huge really. But even huge isn't a good enough word. It doesn't matter what it pertains to, or what feat has been accomplished by it. The turning of a stone is just as big as the moving of a mountain. It is beyond our comprehension the depth and power behind it. My daughter is a miracle. There is nothing small about that. She may be just a pebble in the pond right now, but I see nothing except beautiful mountain summits.

I am a gushing mother, you don't have to say so. But frankly, I choose my battles. Maybe some would be upset with the attitude their child took with them, as mine did with me tonight. It wasn't personal. It wasn't a lack of respect. There is a difference, and discernment comes from the empathy. She is feeling the rush of puberty which makes emotions and thoughts 10 fold. I remember the feeling. I hope she realizes that even though my words of discipline are sometimes sharp and rigid or soft and relaxed, that my devotion to her is constant. That there is no sway or altering depending on the circumstance. I love this sweet child o'mine.