The mother-daughter relationship is a special kind of phenomenon that is difficult to explain. It is a relationship that changes over time but remains an important part of a woman’s life. The father-daughter relationship is also wonderful, but mothers and daughters can share a kind of intimacy that father’s can’t easily grasp.  With Kirstin and me, we have shared a special bond that I believe began with caring for Kirstin in the hospital when she had meningitis. It was strengthened further during the time we spent together when she was in preschool. There has never been a time when Kirstin and I haven’t been friends. I know that many mothers and daughters go through rough periods, when they struggle to define their respective roles. Kirstin and I struggled a little, but I consider it one of the trade-offs that her teen years were pleasant ones. This is especially  amazing when you consider that besides being her mother, I was her teacher during four years of high school.

Craig and Michael always seemed to be busy with work or scouting, doing guy things. So Kirstin and I spent a lot of time together. We played games and Barbies and read stories. We developed out own cheer. It was adapted from one of the cheers performed at the football games for the high school where I teach. It went, “One, we are the girls. Two, we do it right. Three, we are number one . . . We are the girls.”

Each summer, the local movie theater had a weekly children’s movie. This became our summer ritual, and every week Kirstin, Sherry Baby (her Cabbage Patch doll) and I would go to the movies. Kirstin and Sherry always wore matching outfits, and the workers at the theater would watch for us and say, “Here they come.” Due to Kirstin’s maturity level, she enjoyed the type of movies they were showing, so we continued with this routine much longer than most moms and daughters would. We called it our “girls’ day out.”

Kirstin’s side of the story:

I like spending time with both my parents. Sometimes we invite our guys, Dad and my fiancé David, to come along. We go to the movies and lunch on a double date. Sometimes we go hiking or bowling. I look forward to going on a girls’ day out with my mom. In fact, we had one today. We went shopping at the mall. I bought some cute clothes. Mom helped me pick them out. We went to lunch and then to Walmart to buy my groceries. I hope I never get too old for a girls’ day out.

From This Little Light of Mine, A woman with Down syndrome shines brightly in the world. This book is available on Amazon