Slow down and notice her smile. If it’s there, or if it’s not. Bring it out more often. Teach her the world takes notice at her laugh, it seems brighter and more hopeful when she smiles. Capture those smiles in your pocket.
"I think my stepdaughter might have assumed I changed my shirt because I’m old (in her eyes), and old moms don’t wear 'sexy' stuff. Or maybe it was because I was married to her dad and didn’t need to look sexy anymore. And while it was true that I respected her father, that was just the tip of the iceberg."
"The question caught me off guard, like the car in your blind spot when you’re changing lanes, the one that lays on the horn and gives you the finger and sends your heart into a series of herky-jerky palpitations that make you wonder if you should dial 911."
They notice genuine smiles from mom and dad, they notice when you listen, for real listen, and they notice when you take pleasure in them. It’s so easy to get distracted from enjoying your family by the demands of life. But if my daughters remember anything from their childhood, I want them to remember that I enjoyed it too.
