A Note to My Daughter

The short time that we have as parents to shepperd you, our children, into adulthood, is a time of much anxiety. We nag, we cajole, we praise and we lose our temper in our attempts to keep you and your brother in the straight and narrow. But when do we know that we have succeeded? Conventional wisdom dictates that children grow slowly into mature adults. But you, my dear, have defied conventional wisdom as you demonstrated to us, without a doubt, that we have succeeded.

It was not exactly how we wished it to happen, but then again life is never predictable. We sat in the corner of the office, worried sick, and watched as you, despite unremitting pain, spoke to the doctor calmly and with a grace and poise that belies your age. It is not that you were unaware of the gravity of your condition, but you refused to whine or wallow in self pity in spite of the poking, the prodding and the painful procedures. You cannot image how proud we are of the way you handled yourself during this ordeal.

Now that you are on your way to recovery, could you please pass on some of that wisdom to your younger brother?

(Photo by AK: Mekong river at sunset, Laos 1975. Handmade print in sepia tone; no photoshop back in the stone age)