Happy 24th Birthday, Sophie! Happy International Women's Day!
How do I write about this day? Fifteen years of staring into the dark pools of her eyes, wondering what she is thinking or what she sees or whether she knows anything or everything. Tracing the thin scar that lies one inch above her right eyebrow, the mark of a fall, long ago when the pool of blood under her head made me draw in my breath and out to her. Tracing the thin ridge of her nose, the faint freckles, the delicate flutter of her breath. The full beautiful lips that form no words but curve, gently, rarely, in a smile. The soft, curly hair and tiny rounded shoulders, the downy hair on the nape of her neck, the straight back and gentle, graceful body. Her hands are like birds, long slender fingers untouched by labor or use, tapered, they make notes in the air, an ethereal musician. How do I write about this day when she is fifteen years old? I love birthdays, my own included, but especially those of my sweet children. For Sophie, the birthday is something different, something more ephemeral, something to be seized, to mark, to feel sorrow and gratitude.
Another year, another year, another year.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sophie. And sending a hello to you, Elizabeth.
ReplyDeleteMuch love and light to you and to Sweet Sophie xo
ReplyDeleteOh, Elizabeth! Oh, Sophie! Happy birthday!
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely the most beautiful thing I've ever read that a mother has written about her daughter on her birthday. Your ability to describe your daughter and your love for her is beyond gorgeous. And in those and all of your descriptions of her you have made her so real to me that I have dreamed of her many times.
...or whether she knows anything or everything...
And it really doesn't matter. Sophie is.
And she is loved.
Happy, happy birthday, Sophie. Such a beautiful woman you have become. I wish you all the best and so much more.
ReplyDeleteYou are a wonderful mother, Elizabeth and your gift of writing has made Sophie seem present here in my studio. It's a beautiful feeling.
I love this so much! Happy Birthday to your perfect, precious daughter. I can’t wait to read your book(s).your writing is exquisite.
ReplyDelete❤️ happy birthday, to sophie, her mother and all the family. (and, yes: memoir in progress... a present for the rest of us.)
ReplyDeleteThat excerpt was poignant, Thank You for sharing it... and now yet another year, her 24th, Happy Birthday Sophie!
ReplyDeleteYes! "... something different, something more ephemeral, something to be seized, to mark, to feel sorrow and gratitude." Exactly how I feel on each of my son, Josh's (20, Cobalamin C disease) birthdays. Oh, the sorrow, but then the gratitude, too! Happy birthday to Sophie and to you, too, mama!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Sophie and lovely writing Elizabeth.
ReplyDeleteTo Sophie only the best on her birthday. She is a stunning mysterious woman. And I thank you, Elizabeth, for letting us in on her life with such grace and generousity.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Sophie! Loved the excerpt, especially the description of her hands.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, dear Sophie. That Sophie's 24th birthday coincides with the 110th celebration of International Women's Day is moving on so many levels. I look forward to reading But Mostly We Bend. Thank you for posting an excerpt and for the portrait of beautiful Sophie with her steady gaze and graceful delicate hand.
ReplyDeleteDear Elizabeth. How beautiful this is and I also love your new title. Happy birthday to your lovely ethereal musician who knows, very surely, that she is loved.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Sophie, and to her ma, who has so honestly shared her with us. I feel privileged to bear witness. Your words are breathtaking, and poetic, and express the deep deep love you have for her.
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