Spirit
This girl has spirit. Somedays her spirit brings me to my knees in prayer, somedays I image myself like a cartoon character who could blow steam out of my head in frustration, and other days she downright surprises and inspires me. Recently, we were at a store, and she was talking to everyone in sight as she normally does. She likes to ask shoppers random questions about their purchases or express a liking for their hair or outfits. She likes to talk to the workers and tell them that she appreciates their hard work by saying, “thank you for doing what you do!” Some of the workers ignore her, some genuinely appreciate her words, and a few will tell me what a great job I am doing raising such a lovely young lady. I am always short on time and an introvert, so her banter with complete strangers annoys me. I usually roll my eyes and tell her to stay focused on our mission. She loves every second of it and is having the time of her life.
This day, as we entered the parking lot, she saw the worker struggling to gain cooperation from the carts and said her usual, “thank you for doing what you do!” The worker stopped what she was doing and expressed genuine appreciation of her words. Something about this encounter struck me and I was moved. It occurred to me that this beautiful young daughter of mine sees people. She truly sees people. She could easily walk past these people as I do like I am on a more important mission, but something inside of her compels her to see them. For the first time ever, I left the store inspired by the lesson I learned from my daughter. Mercedes, I see you and your love for people is amazing.
