Today, my daughter is 15. 

When your daughter is 15, you know you have been given a gift, even if she is a little hard to unwrap sometimes. 

When your daughter is 15, you understand she is closer to being a young woman than she is a baby, but you also understand she will always be your baby. 

When your daughter is 15, you grab your chance at the best mirror in the house when you can get it. 

When your daughter is 15, you spend a lot of time in the car, driving her places and picking her up from those places, because she can’t yet drive herself, but she has a lot of places to go. 

When your daughter is 15, she starts talking about colleges and careers and you think you have plenty of time to think about those things “later” and then you realize “later” is pretty much next week. 

When your daughter is 15, you get to watch her honing her passions and you start to think maybe you are catching a glimpse of her future.

When your daughter is 15, you look back on the years that have passed with gratitude . . . and on the years to come with hope.

And when your daughter is 15, you remember when she was born and how you thought at that moment you could never love her more than you did then . . . and you realize now you were wrong about that, because you do. 

This article originally appeared on Guilty Chocoholic Mama

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