My Sweet Daughter

I just have to share an experience I had yesterday in getting to know the kind of young woman my daughter is becoming! Yesterday was Stephanie's best friend's birthday (Hannah is her name). Stephanie and Hannah have been friends for well over a year now and are pretty much inseperable. Hannah turned 15 yesterday. Stephanie has always enjoyed giving to others more than she enjoys receiving (an example for me and all around her). Stephanie had been planning for weeks what to do for Hannah's birthday. She did not complain once about money being tight and not being able to spend alot of money on her friend...she just got busy and got creative. First of all, she got her friend a "Hello Kitty" shirt, because Hannah LOVES Hello Kitty (yes, she turned 15!). LOL Second, Stephanie made cupcakes for Hannah and put a few in a container to take to school for her (and she gave the rest of them to her later after school yesterday). But I think the most creative thing she did was to paint the rocks at the school. This was a wonderful process for me to observe for many reasons. Sunday night, I took Stephanie and another of her friends, Apirl, over to the school. It was around 10:30 pm, so I pulled up and pointed the car's headlights at the rocks. The girls then proceeded to cover all 3 rocks with black spray paint and then used differnt colors to write a wonderful happy birthday message to Hannah...for all the school to see the next day. Watching the girls spray paint the rocks was entertainment on it's own, and of course I got lots of pictures. Both the girls and myself were a little nervous that someone would come along behind us and paint over their message to Hannah. But we crossed our fingers and went home. Monday morning, Stephanie and I picked up April and then Hannah and proceeded to school. Hannah was on cloud 9...bouncing around in the car. Stephanie and April and I were nervous and excited. We knew that cloud 9 would vanish if the rocks had been painted over. But...as we pulled up to the school...there was our birthday message...bright and bold for all the school to see. I thought Hannah was going to go insane with excitement!! I have never seen a teenage girl so thrilled! Only a few weeks into high school and all 3 of the rocks were devoted to her special day!! To me though, the most wonderful part was seeing the joy in Stephanie's eyes as her best friend reveled in her birthday surprise. Stephanie wouldn't have had that much joy if it was HER birthday and the rocks had been painted for HER. Suddenly it occured me that my daughter is a beautiful young woman who cares deeply about the ones she loves and gives of herself completely and unselfishly in their behalf. She experiences more joy in giving than receiving! What better gift to a mother than to realize her children are becoming such wonderful young adults! I will cherish this experience always, as it allowed me to take a peak at the kind of person my daughter is becoming!