Friday 13 March 2009

to my darling daughter

my beautiful and darling cherub

as your enter the eighth year of your life tomorrow i feel like digging out and caressing one of my favourite mementoes from your earlier days the time when you grabbed my thumb for the first time there was so much energy and vim in that squeeze your mum and i laughed our heads off after because from then on you showed your passion for people by hugging them very tightly whilst sucking in your cheeks it is one of your trademarks gestures now i also remember when i used to sing to you that famous song performed by none other than bola de nieve drume negrita whilst tucking you in bed and you would make the motion of the pau pau with your hands in the air you were only two but you could already recognise a good tune

meine liebe tochter mi chiquipeque ma chère fille i also remember the first word you uttered like your brother you went for the practical agua thus making sure that you would never die of thirst in a spanish speaking country and it made me so proud because you like your brother are the product of this globalised world of ours my dear daughter with your hebrew first name your french middle one and your spanish surnames yes you have big blond curls reaching down your shoulders now yet you are also cuban african chinese spanish english irish gibraltarian yes you are that and a lot more you are my daughter my balletic ballet ballerina expressive and graceful daughter the one who sasses back at me when we are both angry and the one who rushes to someone when they are in need of a cuddle

and the horses did i mention the horses the ones as little as your thumb thumb horses they are trotting about in your bedroom solid equus caballus tamed by your dainty hands brown horses and black and white long haired ones which you love like your mami you love unlike your papi who has never been on one you have touched their mane and fed them and that is why you look after that toy stable we gave you for christmas because you love horses galloping on their four hooves and you dream about them and you tell us about your dream the next day whilst you laugh and your laughter is clear and loud because you laugh with your entire tiny body from the tip of the longest hair follicle in your head to the tip of your big toe mi hijita querida on this day your birthday here is my little pressie for you this beautiful lullaby which brings to mind those occasions on which you ask me to sing the song about the boy who leaves havana and comes across a chinese dog that decides to follow him and how the boy falls for the dog and how he trades the dog he loves so much for a pair of shiny boots and some money and how he is sad after his money runs out and his boots break and how you ask me to explain the song to you and i tell you that it is a song about holding onto what you love and that no amount of money in the world can buy that precious thing and that is why i thought of this traditional lullaby because tonight my darling daughter my little cherub i would like you to dream about horses

besos de tu papi

40 comments:

  1. that was so beauiful, you write from your heart, my daughter is a year younger than yours, and I so relate to the memory's...sweetness..thanks,
    lejardengirl

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  2. I always enjoy your posts, but when you write to your children the beauty is breathtaking.

    My daughter is now 24. She is a beautiful young woman filled with love and striding into the world. She has traded her silly songs and toy horses for law school and a handsome young man.

    Treasure these days! They fly by so very, very quickly.

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  3. Que palabras tan lindas! Que bella relacion entre padre y hija. Felicidades a tu hijita querida. Le deceo todo lo mejor en este mundo.

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  4. There is a melodic fluidity in this post; each part flowing into the other like the days of lives well lived in love. I wish you both a happy birthday and many many more.

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  5. Your daughter sounds precious to the core. She's so lucky to have a daddy that adores her and is not afraid to express this to her or to the world. Thank you for this beautiful, loving post.

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  6. I was surprised that my son's firth word was "agua" and has never heard of another case like this up to now...
    I wish your daughter and the whole family a happy birthday.
    Saludos,
    Al Godar

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  7. I love this post, I love the way it's written, it's incredible how its fluidity helps convey emotions... thanks for sharing this!

    Polly
    x

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  8. It was difficult for me, because of loss, to get through your beautiful birthday greeting to your lovely daughter.
    Blessings and joy to you and your daughter, your family and friends, always. We must treasure the very moment...now...
    Lyn

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  9. Many thanks to you all for your kind words and may I offer my most sincere apolgoies to you lyn for unintentionally awakening those feelings.

    Greetings from London.

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  10. This was such a beautiful open letter to your little daughter. Do cherish each moment of her childhood. It passes by so very quickly. My daughter, who had blond curls, like yours, is 26 now. Of course, I still cherish her, but that little girl is grown up.

    Hope you and yours are enjoying all the birthday festivities!

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  11. My girly girl just turned 8 in February! Isn't it a sadly wonderful year. You can see the lady yet there are still glimpses of the little girl you are losing?! sigh... I have been raising all of my kids to be wonderful competent fabulously enriched adults yet doing so it is easy to let the littleness in them slip away. This reminds me to hold on as long as possible. Thanks!

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  12. The fluidity of your imagery, the flow of emotion, and the outpouring of love for you daughter stream forth from this post. It is really beautiful and wonderful. I hope years from now, your daughter will look back on this and smile, knowing that her papa is able to express his feelings to the whole world.

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  13. Congratulations to your darling, beautiful, sweet daughter, and to you for the awesome way in which you are able to express your feelings. Ah, the lullaby: Cuando salí de La Habana ..., such a vivid translation. You've brought back memories of my own childhood when my father used to sing it to me, and of my daughter's 8 years. She's now a wonderful young lady, at 21, who has overcome the trauma of her teen arrival in a foreign country, but she still cries if she hears that song. Hugs and kisses to you and your amazing family, my fellow Cuban.

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  14. Many thanks to you all for your wonderful comments. We had a nice celebration yesterday which she enjoyed a lot.

    Greetings from London.

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  15. Happy Birthday!

    Thank you for sharing the beauty and joy of your loving family; the wonderful lesson of love in the story of the boy and his broken boots. You have a beautiful voice!

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  16. Many thanks, mama.

    Greetings from London.

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  17. Cubanito este post es tan lindo que casi me hizo llorar. Espero algún día tener un hijito o hijita y dedicarle palabras igual de hermosas.

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  18. Yo tambien le dejo mis felicitaciones a ella.
    Saludos para ti.

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  19. words + music = perfection. :-)

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  20. Muchas gracias, many thanks for your kind comments.

    Greetings from London.

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  21. que cariño !
    muchas felicidades para tu princesita, amigo Cuban!!
    y sin duda, estara muy orgullosa de su papi que le escribe unas palabras tan bellas y très touchantes....

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  22. Muchas gracias, A y mi castillo.

    Saludos desde Londres.

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  23. What a beautiful birthday love letter to your daughter! May this year bring you all much joy and happiness.

    I love the song at the end. It was one of my daughter's favourite lullabies. She sang it at a little school concert when she was five, changing "horses" to "unicorns"!

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  24. cono compadre, que lindo eso bro, lo acabamos de leer maylin y yo.
    Un abrazo para ustedes!

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  25. Many thanks, just a plane. It's a lovely song, isn't it?

    Asereson, muchas gracias, bro.

    Saludos desde Londres.

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  26. Beautiful ode to your daughter! How lucky she is to be part of such a multi-cultural world.

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  27. Thanks, paris.

    Greetings from London.

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  28. How magnificent was that tribute to your daughter! it conveys your deep awareness of her being, it conveys love like in a poem! She sounds beautiful inside and out and sounds lucky to have a father who is so connected! happy birthday from France!
    ps i loved that you used lower case letters and multiple languages as though the words themselves could not be restricted by grammar!

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  29. Many thanks, dancing. You're quite right about the use of the various languages. Feelings know linguistic boundaries.

    Greetings from London.

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  30. What a lovely post for your daughter.

    Happy Birthday to her....your daughter, who shares not only her astrological sign with me, but her birth day as well.

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  31. Thanks, diva, yes, I noticed that straight away. Isn't that a marvellous coincidence?

    Greetings from London.

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  32. Your daughter will treasure these thoughts about her someday. A wonderful tribute to your love for her.
    Catherine

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  33. Many thanks, catherine.

    Greetings from London.

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  34. Merci bien, Miren!

    Salutations de Londres.

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  35. This was a beautiful post and she sounds like an amazing young lady! G-d bless!

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  36. Many thanks, mamma. She is amazing.

    Greetings from London.

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  37. "you went for the practical agua thus making sure that you would never die of thirst in a spanish speaking country"

    Thanks to that same globalization you mention, that same word would get her water in even more places, now.

    Great line; wonderful post.

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  38. You're so right, flybrother. Many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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