My Daughter Thinks I'm Beautiful

A Gift for Mom! 🤍

My daughter thinks I’m beautiful.

She’s seven, and her eyes don’t see flaws the same way mine do.

Her fingers trace over the delicate stretch marks on my stomach, the place where she and her brother made their home so long ago now.

She’s proud of how soft my hair is. Where I see frizz, she sees volume. Her eyes delight in the “sparkles” she sees in my hair. I see mousy brown laced with grey, but in her eyes, silver streaks are hints of magic and not signs of age.

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The extra curves I possess, the plump roundness of belly that sticks out of the top of my jeans, are symbols of comfort to her. She squeezes them gently and rubs them as she walks by.

She counts my freckles and sunspots, giving them names as I do hers.

Freckles are something to be excited about and to fuss over, not a reason to regret all those sun-filled days where sunscreen was forgotten.

The movements of my body are clumsy and awkward. But where I lack grace and refinement, she sees silly fun. She asks me to do that dance move again, again. She tries to move her body like I do, a twinkle of mischief as she learns to shake her hips back and forth.

Where I see flaws, my daughter sees beauty. And I don’t dare correct her.

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Because someday, her body will look like mine. Signs of aging, a marred body that produced life. Wrinkles and streaks of gray from age and wisdom. Tired eyes, dark circles betraying the exhaustion she’ll try hard to hide from her family.

A body that has seen things, and felt things, and held small children close as they breathe in the smell that means home.

And if I talk poorly about these silver streaks, how will she think about hers when they arrive?

And if I sigh in the mirror, trying to hide the curves that time has brought me, what will she think of the folds in her body as they appear?

And if I talk poorly about this body that made her, how will she feel as her body changes to carry a child of her own?

RELATED: 9 Ways To Teach Your Daughter To Love Her Body

So I’ll nod confidently at my weight reflected in the scale, should she happen to see me stepping onto it. And I’ll run my fingers through my hair and remark about how curly my hair wants to be today. I’ll admire my own nose and delight in my increasing amounts of freckles and wear the bathing suit to the beach because I only get one body and I’m learning to love it.

I don’t dare speak ill of my body in front of her. Because my genes are strong, and someday, this body will mirror hers. And I don’t dare speak ill of this beautiful girl I’ve made, and I don’t dare speak ill of the beautiful woman she’ll become.

And if she thinks I’m beautiful, so will I.

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Jaymi Torrez

Jaymi Torrez is a writer and teacher of tiny humans. She lives in Southern California with her two kids and super cool husband. She dreams of hot cups of coffee and five minutes of peace, but can more often be found writing about the ups and downs of parenting while waiting to pick someone up from piano or swim.

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My Daughter Thinks I’m Beautiful

My daughter thinks I’m beautiful.

RELATED: This is the Definition of Beauty I will Teach my Daughters

Where I see flaws, my daughter sees beauty. And I don’t dare correct her.

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And if she thinks I’m beautiful, so will I.

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Jaymi Torrez

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I’m Not Really Sure How To Do This Teenager Thing

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Get It Now

So God Made a Mother

My Daughter Thinks I’m Beautiful

My daughter thinks I’m beautiful.

Where I see flaws, my daughter sees beauty. And I don’t dare correct her.

And if she thinks I’m beautiful, so will I.

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

These Moms on the Sidelines Became My People

I Wanted Experts to Fix My Child with ADHD. Instead, They Changed Me.

Parenting a Child with a Disability Is Holy Ground

I Came Home With a Baby—and Lost Myself

He Doesn’t Always Need Me Anymore and I’m Not Sure How To Feel About It

We Keep Calling Her Confident, But She Doesn’t Trust Herself

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I Finally Admitted I Didn’t Want To Be a SAHM Anymore

I’m Not Really Sure How To Do This Teenager Thing

Why Don’t We Talk About Jonah’s Mother?

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