Okay, okay -- an excessive 3 posts in one night! I've neglected blogging for so long, I nearly missed this great link on my friend Beth's blog, posted by my other friend Suebee! How lucky to have such lovely friends!

Don't think I posted this correctly, but oh well. Try it anyway. I'm a Cultural Creative. What are you? You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational. Cultural Creative 100% Postmodernist 56% Idealist 50% Fundamentalist 44% Romanticist 44% Modernist 38% Existentialist 25% Materialist 19% What is Your World View? (updated) created with QuizFarm.com

I underestimate my daughter. I don't really know why this is, as she has exceeded my expectations time and time again. I think in this somewhere is the crux of the "women's inhumanity to women" phenomenon. I am sure my mother underestimated me, and I wonder if her mother did the same to her and so on. I wonder if we see ourselves in our daughters and participate in enough self-loathing to allow this to rub off on our relationship with her. I know this begs to be reviewed in more depth, and this is a direction I wish to go. But today, I'm going to brag about my daughter (yes, brag. Heck, if I can't brag on my blog site, where can I?)

A lot has happened this year, so I'll just list the highlights:

• On her own accord, she took an acting/modeling class in an effort to break into show business. She was picked up by an agent after her first showcase, and has been auditioning for commercial ads, both print and television. (she hasn't landed a job yet, and in L.A., it seems everyone has an agent. Still way more than most 11 year olds accomplish. Her portfolio is simply beautiful. Where the heck did she come from?)
• She was recruited for Spring Select Soccer and then for AYSO Plus -- she tried out and made both teams. The spots are few and the competition was extreme. She kept her head about her and was never nervous about it. She did her best and was delighted to make the team. She holds her own against the best of them. My little girl.
• Get this one -- She was recruited as a Sports Ambassador and will be representing the US in Australia in the summer of 2006 (!!!). She had to go through a grueling application process which included several essays, 3 letters of recommendation and excellent academic record. It culminated in an interview with the Coach, who selected her on the spot! She has begun her fundraising campaign.
• She has maintained a 4.0 during her first year in Middle School. She has been on the Superintendent's Honor Roll every marking period, in addition to winning Student of the month in every subject at some point, including (but not limited to) Wood Shop. She started a Newpaper with a small group of friends and managed to publish 4 editions so far, and is entertaining the hope of one more edition before school lets out. All of this success has come against all odds. We moved in the summer, and she was thrust into a strange Middle School in the last minute. All of her established support systems are elsewhere. Still she prevailed.
• She has had extreme difficulty with mean girls in Middle School. There have been countless tearful rides home from school after hard days against the tide. On the other hand, she has made some very good friends, and is especially admired by the boys (dad's keeping an eye on this).
• She is the advocate for the underdog, a friend to the environment and the homeless (people and animals...). She is a strong Christian -- unwavering. She has integrity beyond her years. At a whopping 75 pound soaking wet, she is a wisp of a girl. A waif. But man does she pack a whollop.

++You Go Girl. May all your dreams come true. You teach me everyday, my baby girl. God Bless You.

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams" Eleanor Roosevelt

I am moved by this quote in a way that surprises me. These days my dreams seem to gravitate toward those of my children. I want to see their dreams come true -- and their successes seem to fulfill me in a way I cannot describe easily. The things I used to reach for pale in comparison to the beauty of my childrens' dreams. I'm not embarassed by this phenomenon. I'm just observing. I dream that my beautiful children will be everything God has created them to be, and I delight in every step they make in that direction.

I believe in the beauty of their dreams. I believe in their ability to acheive them. Why not? Nothing is impossible with God. They exceed my expectations every day, and in this they glorify God to me.

But what of my future? you may ask. What of my hope? They are the embodiment of my future and my hope. They are my dream come true. Maybe some new dreams will come, but for now this is what matters to me. After all, what are our children but a dream fulfilled?

My life changes every day. My children grow older and their need for me changes. My body is unpredictable, my whims ever fluctuating. I do not know the number of my days. I have "now" only. This moment. And this moment could be my last. Thus I must live without regret. "Suck the marrow out of life" it has been said. Dream big. I do. I did. I have. I will. But I can't imagine it being any bigger than it is right now -- always so much more than I expected. What a wonderful life.

Thank you, Lord, for my children -- my incredible, beautiful, miraculous children. May all their dreams come true. Thank you for this life. You are so good to me.