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Our Rural Roots

Through My Daughter's Eyes

(Progressive Farmer image by Meredith Bernard)

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and as we come upon Mother's Day, I celebrate knowing I was blessed with a strong community of women that shaped me into the woman I am today.

My mother worked as hard as my father to provide for our family and taught me to see the beauty around me. My grandmothers sacrificed their own needs and wants to make sure others were taken care of first. When my mother passed 19 years ago, many women stepped up to support and encourage me, just like I was one of their own.

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Then, I became the mother of a daughter, and as I've watched her grow these last nine years, I see now how much I've grown with her -- because of her.

It's been said I'm independent, so I guess that part of my daughter's personality comes naturally (if not mirrored). Perhaps our similarities are what cause us to butt heads when we do (and we definitely do). But, more often than not, I find myself inspired by her more than any other female in my life. Not because I see so much of me in her, but because I see so much in her that I want to be.

I yearn to have her ability to see the good in others
as well as the good in herself. She has a carefree abandon to embrace who she is without a care in
the world to be someone she's not. She finds joy in
the everyday simple things that I can every day take
for granted.

There's a place for the "girly girls" of the world, and there's a place for those who aren't. Truth is, there's a place for us all, and my girl reminds me daily that finding our place begins with being strong and secure in who God made us each to be. As I look at life through my daughter's eyes, I pray she eventually sees more of me being more like her.

> Blogger Meredith Bernard writes, takes photographs and ponders life and agriculture from her North Carolina family farm. Follow her on Twitter @thisfarmwife and visit her website at thisfarmwife.com.

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