Facing the fire within their eyes...

I love my daughters..
I love my son!
my son is 13!
he has normal moments of anger
and moods..
but is reasonably even keeled..

My girls are the other hand
are more like me...
passionate
and emotional...

The pre teen years are killing me..:)

And yet-
as I react to the look my daughter gives me
when I get close to her and look in her eyes..
when I invade her space-
in my frustration!
I KNOW that she is my child!
I see in her compliance
matched with strength!
She will listen,
she will obey..
but she will not be broken!!

I cannot acknowledge that;
with out understanding
that I want my daughters
to hold onto their fire!
I need them to know their worth
and feel angry
when that is threatened
NO matter who threatens it!

NOW- I need to learn
to accept
what comes across as defiance
and give them the space needed
to retain their strength,
while still expecting respect!
What a fine line...

But, as a mother
who knows what it is
to have your soul under attack,
and what it feels like
to only survive intact
because of a fire within
that refused to be doused,
I can see the fire in them
and know
that I never want
to be responsible for putting that flame out..

Now if I could just figure out
how NOT to match the fire within
them
with
the fire within
me..

Parenting...
Jumping through hoops....
ablaze with flames,
and just praying you
don't take a step
that leaves life altering scars....

No pressure in THAT!:)