Saturday 14 March 2015

Saturday Evenings: Stay In, Sit Up and Switch On

Well, I did it for my son a couple of months ago, so why should I not do it for my daughter, too? I wrote this post first in 2009 when my daughter turned eight. She is now a fourteen-year-old beautiful, sweet, intelligent and polite teenager and the feelings that triggered off the post below have multiplied. I should also add that she is now more into hamsters than horses.

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

25 comments:

  1. Siempre son pocas las palabras que uno quiere dar a los queridos, bonito texto, un abrazo de felicidad.

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  2. Surely heart warming for her indeed. Words always to remember at her feed

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  3. Oh daughters! And now you have the excitements of watching her grow into a woman, to celebrate her multiple heritages and still be uniquely herself!

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  4. Yo, eterna niñita de papi, voy a achacarle estos lagrimones a la primavera y a darte un apapacho virtual. El mundo tendría que empapelarse con cartas como la tuya.

    Mariana

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. You write so well and this is a beautiful piece that I am sure your daughter will keep forever. Excuse me while I find a handkerchief ... I am feeling quite emotional ..


    Apologies for the deleted comment. My fingers were all thumbs, as they say!

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  7. Very lovely__ a real picture of father- daughter feeling here. Thanks. K

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  8. Oh how you've stirred such powerful emotions here, CiL...the love of a father for his daughter is so precious. She will remember these words for the rest of her life...
    Oh wow...:)

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  9. Very heart touching post. You are a doting father and your writing is very emotional. Surely, your daughter will never forget such a fantastic father who wrote such wonderful words in her honor.

    I enjoyed the video.

    Best wishes

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  10. Darn you! You brought tears to my eyes. There are few things more precious than the love of a good parent for his children. I have no doubt that your daughter will always cherish your letters... and you.

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  11. An inspiring post. Overwhelming.

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  12. An intriguing, emotional and well-written piece, CiL. I am curious how much your son and your daughter are alike and how much they are different from one another; how much they resemble you in their nature and how much they fall into the pattern of their mother. Curious …. always curious …. I think you should write about your wife sometime, too.

    Anyway, I enjoyed reading your words here. They reveal a great deal about you.

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  13. A wonderful poem to and for your daughter.
    She must and will treasure it forever.

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  14. enjoy the kids , they are soon adults :)

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  15. What a beautiful and touching piece and the lullaby is divine! My daughter is 7 now, they grow so fast, every moment is so precious

    mindlovemisery

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  16. oh that made me smile... so lovely... did you read it to her? i didn't write back then when my kids were small but they love to hear stories about them..smiles

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  17. Aw. So touching. How time flies, right?

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  18. smiles...daughters need to hear these things...sons too...but i hope that you have given it to her in a way that she can preserve it for when she needs it later....

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  19. Oh, this is so very touching!
    I can imagine how much your daughter loved it!!!!

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  20. Such a beautiful dedication to your daughter! I hope she wasn't too embarrassed!

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  21. Such a beautiful dedication to your daughter! I hope she wasn't too embarrassed!

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  22. ¡Qué cosa más linda, Cuban! Felicidades a la pepilla en su cumple.

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  23. Of course, I never showed this post to my daughter. She would be too embarrassed! :-) But I do tell her how intelligent she is, how beautiful she is. We do share the memories of when she was younger.

    Thanks for your comments. She had a lovely birthday celebration.

    Greetings from London.

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