The bond between mothers and daughters is powerful.
It can be powerful… but it takes a lot of work to develop a relationship with one’s daughter.
A meaningful relationship doesn’t just happen. Daughters and mothers are individuals and as our daughters grow, they become independent. There is a lot riding on the shoulders and hearts of mothers as we effort to maintain a closeness. A trust.
How do we navigate through the teen (and even tween) years to come out on the other side – relationship intact? And honestly, hopefully MORE that simply intact.
I have not arrived at the other side, but I have my eyes on a specific prize… lovely, deep relationships with my daughters. My journey today is intentional. It is exhausting. It is exciting. I see in my relationship with my daughters power and hope in a willingness to admit my own imperfections as their mother. A willingness to say “I’m sorry”. But equally as important, to show my girls how to be strong. I need to show them my dedication to supporting, lifting, and intentionally showing them I support them and am proud of them.
This world offers great obstacles. There is an abundance of negative my girls must brave every day. From magazines to peers and even from their own mother. I am promising my girls I will be their cheerleader. Their defender. And will always have their back. Rain or shine. In their darkest or most beautiful moments.
Some of the depth of promising is a bit beyond where my girls are. I feel my promise so deeply. Theirs I think is still brewing in their roles as the young girls they are… focused on pleasing mom. Perhaps distracted by the benefits of doing what mom says.
But I did get a promise from my girls.
Livi (12) promised “I will never become a bratty teenager and I won’t move away when I’m 16.”
Lucy promised, “I will always love you.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell Livi she might feel like it at times when she is 16. Aaaaand I didn’t have the heart to tell Lucy that while she may very well always love me… she won’t always FEEL like she does.
Our video was inspired by Tori Amos’ video of her song featuring her own daughter, Promise.
Promise is from her current album Unrepentant Geraldines. You can get it at iTunes, Amazon, Amazon Deluxe, and Google Play.
If you are a mom, what promise might you make to your daughter? Daughters what promise might you give to your mom?
*This is a sponsored post for One2One Network. As always these are my personal thoughts. Indeed my heart. My involvement in this project was a labor of love and my daughters and I are so thankful to we were able to be a part of it. Now. Go love your girls. With intention.
