Peaches and Cream

She has become so confident in who she is I hardly recognizer her. I watch her from the distance and think to myself… if only I have been that confident when I was 23!

She lives life with such exuberance. Whether it’s working out at the gym, organizing her staff and equipment at the road crew office, or simply hanging out with her friends, everyone senses her excitement.

She is sweetness… just like a peach. That’s what her team calls her – Peaches – and she loves the thrill of the roller derby women. She thrives on the camaraderie of a team sport; radiates when organizing fundraisers; and loves the challenges of the tournaments. She’s the perfect component to any squad … Peaches and Cream!

She understands commitment – commitment to the group, to the job, to the team. She can be counted on and trust me, they all do.

She knows who she wants to be! She is confident of what she has to offer to make this world a better place. She knows how to reach out and touch the lives of others. She knows, even at such a young age what it is she wants out of life, what she wants to accomplish in life, and what she wants to contribute to life.

She really is an amazing young lady. At times I see glimpses of me. She has some of the same skills I do… as well as some of the same doubts and fears. But she is so much better than I ever was or ever will be.

She is all of these things… but the thing I am most proud of is that she is my daughter. Today, Wyanita JoyLee turns 23. She had blessed my life for 23 years and I am grateful for every day of it… yes, even those days of turmoil about a decade ago when she wasn’t as confident as she is today. But I look back and I am thankful for every trial we went through as mother and daughter because they helped make us who we are today… and I am so proud of who she is today… so I give thanks for those “tribulations”.

Father, I thank you for the gift you gave me when you gave me Wyanita. Thank you for giving me the wisdom and the patience I needed to be the mother you asked me to be. I ask that you bless Wyanita the rest of her days and that Your Spirit would constantly draw her back into Your circle of love.