My daughter has a lot of interests that I didn’t expect her to have. As a traditionally feminine woman, I expected my daughter to be the same. She was around two years old when I realised she was very different from myself. Where I was playing with dolls and stealing my mother’s makeup, she was rummaging around in the dirt digging up worms that would soon become her best friends. Ever since then, I have tried to accommodate her passions so that we could do stuff together, as mother and daughter.
My daughter is now sixteen, and her latest passion is woodwork. She absolutely loves building things, and does a woodworking class at school. I’ve been weary of letting her work with timber at home, because I don’t know how to make it as safe as possible for her. After multiple discussions with her, we’ve agreed that she can work on her own small DIY project in the backyard on the weekends when I’m home. This Saturday, we are going to visit the local Hampton hardware store, to choose the right materials for her project. I can tell that she’s extremely excited about this, and it makes me happy that we came to a compromise that keeps her as safe and happy as possible. She deserves to live her best life, and as her mother it’s my job to make sure that she lives it. Sometimes I wish we could do some traditionally “girly” things together, like going to get our nails done instead of hammering nails, but I love her and her happiness is my priority.
I am very much looking forward to watching her face on Saturday when she chooses her timber supplies. Cheltenham is a great place to support her passions, because there’s so many opportunities out there for DIY materials. I hope that living where we do, and having a mother that supports her 100% means that my daughter will thrive in her mid teens and well into adulthood. I am proud to be her mother.