That Special Moment

This morning when I went to get Pumpkin out of bed, I knocked on her door before entering as I always do and I heard her say "Mamma." Then, when I went into her room, she immediately said, "Hi, Mom" as clear as a bell. I almost stopped in my tracks and fell to my knees! Mind you, she's said "Mamma" for quite a while now but hearing her say "Hi, Mom" as if I'm walking into my teenaged daughter's room to get the dirty laundry was simply astounding, and IMMENSELY fulfilling. Additionally, she now wants only Mamma when she gets out of her nightly bath and wrapped into her towels. This has ALWAYS been Daddy's portion of the routine, but about a month ago, she just started reaching out to me and saying, "Mamma." DH calls her a 'Mamma's Girl' and who could blame him? And who could ask for anything more? I surely could not as Motherhood, while it continues to be grueling at times and certainly exhausting both physically and emotionally, is worth every hardship and ounce of effort. Our daughter simply delights us each and every day in a new and wonderful way. Just tonight, while Pumpkin took her bath, DH asked aloud about her birth parents, wondering what they were like. I told him she could have been born to a single mother or parents who had to give her up due to the one child policy. Either way, I noted, we are ETERNALLY indebted to her for this beautiful gift she bore for us, whether she intended to or not. We were given the most precious of things in our daughter and she continues to astound us.