Tribute to my daughter

When she was 2, it seemed like I had a third leg. She was so shy and attached to me that I spent most of my time dragging her around with her holding on to my right leg. It's a wonder I'm not limping!

When she was three, she demanded the training wheels be taken off of her bike the minute they were put on and off she went, riding a two wheeler.

She also decided at three, that she was going to mawwy Stevie Wonder. She played and sung the song Gotta Be until she wore a hole in it. I told her, "You know, he's going to be old when you get old enough to marry him." She replied, "That's okay cause I still want to mawwy him."

When she was 4, she got on a balance beam for the very first time and did a cartwheel and landed it perfectly...this led to her training in a US gymnastics center with ambitions to become an Olympic gymnast. When she was injured, that stopped her from competing but not from staring fear directly in her face.

When she was five, she insisted that she could swim. She jumped into the deep end of the pool and swam like a fish.

When she was 15, she graduated from high school. Always older than her years, nothing could hold her back.

All and all, my Jarebear, as she has been called from the time she was two minutes old has been the greatest daughter I could ever hope or wish for. She has taught me to feel the fear and do it anyway. When I feel like quitting, she is there to remind me not to give up but to keep on trying. She's beautiful, but yet doesn't know it. She has given me love for music groups like Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Reverie Sound Revue and Minus the Bear. She is hilarious too. She allows me to be goofy and for the most part, never calls me on it unless I get out of hand. Just recently, I went shopping with her at Forever 21 and when Prince's song, "I Would Die For You" came on, she gave me "the look" and I spared her the embarrassment of dancing right in the middle of the store.

Her and her boo, are the cutest couple ever. They compliment one another in their thoughts and ideas. Not to mention, they both like fruit snacks for breakfast in the morning!

Just recently, she landed a fulltime position at ABC's local news station as a news editor. Her hours are early and long but yet, she keeps on going without complaining (at least not too much) about how tired she is.

If I don't say it enough, I want her to know that she is a rare gem in my life and I treasure her existence. Without my baby girl, life wouldn't be the same!!!